Former NFL GM confident that Steelers were close to landing star receiver during NFL Draft

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been the epicenter of trades throughout the NFL offseason.

Pittsburgh was part of three major trades in the NFL during the month of March. They traded wide receiver Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a sixth-round pick and cornerback Donte Jackson, and shortly after traded quarterback Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles, followed by the acquisition of Justin Fields from the Chicago Bears.

And they still may not be done.

Pittsburgh needs a No. 2 boundary receiver, and it’s likely they will acquire one via trade or free agency. Whether it be Courtland Sutton, Treylon Burks, Darius Slayton, or Michael Thomas, a new receiver is all but certainly going to be in Pittsburgh before Week 1. With that in mind, former NFL general manager Michael Lombardi says the Steelers were close to landing either Brandon Aiyuk for Deebo Samuel from the San Francisco 49ers.

“There was talk that, at the draft, that Pittsburgh thought they had made a trade,” Lombardi said via the GM Shuffle Podcast. “Whether it was for Deebo or whether it was for Aiyuk, I don’t know. But then things kind of fell apart late.”

The Steelers were rumored to have made the call to the 49ers, reaching out about a potential trade ahead of the draft. There was also gasoline thrown on the fire by Aiyuk himself who posted on X for the first time in a year, posting directly to Mike Tomlin saying he heard they look alike. Aiyuk hasn’t posted anything on X since.

While it’s certainly possible the Steelers still facilitate a trade with the 49ers, it certainly doesn’t feel likely at this point. If you think of it from the 49ers’ perspective, they likely know this is the last run at a Super Bowl they will have with this collective group. One of Samuel or Aiyuk will be gone after 2024. They also have to start thinking about when and how much they will pay Brock Purdy, as well as multiple players on the defensive side of the ball. My guess is they hold onto both Aiyuk and Samuel for the year, and we will see one of them moved ahead of the 2025 season.

In terms of where that leaves Pittsburgh, the aforementioned names are still a possibility. And who knows? Maybe they land a big fish we haven’t even been talking about. One thing does seem evident- they are big-game hunting for an upper-class player.