Tag Archives: Pittsburgh Steelers

NFL Trades

Moves I’d like to see ahead of the 2025 NFL trade deadline:

With the 2025 NFL trade deadline coming up next Tuesday (Nov. 4) at 4pm ET, here are the ten moves I’d like to see happen!

(This is simply a copy of my social media post, rather than my typical full-fledged article)

 

 

Colts QB Anthony Richardson ➡️ Vikings

This is more of a long-term investment for Kevin O’Connell, potentially having two more years of contractual control. They can still give JJ McCarthy his opportunity, but could get Richardson onto the field late and give themselves options.

 

 

Titans RB Tony Pollard ➡️ Chiefs

There’s no need for Tennessee to limit touches for Tyjae Spears, off the high-ankle sprain. Meanwhile, Isiah Pacheco just got banged up and the Chiefs haven’t found much consistency on the ground. Pollard is scheme-versatile and adds some juice.

 

 

 

Saints WR Chris Olave ➡️ Steelers

New Orleans has been openly shopping their WRs. Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers is throwing the ball 3.1 yards short of the sticks on average, relying heavily on yards after the catch. Olave could provide some air underneath as a vertical threat.

 

 

 

TE David Njoku ➡️ Buccaneers

Tampa Bay has lost Mike Evans for the season, along with having other WRs in and out of the lineup. Adding Njoku’s explosiveness from the TE spot could diversify their passing attack. Cleveland can continue to lean more into rookie Harold Fannin Jr.

 

 

 

Raiders IOL Jackson Powers-Johnson ➡️ Texans

The Raiders OL has been a mess. With JPJ having started to settle in at guard, this would offer Houston options to either plug him in there or replace center Jake Andrews. We just saw what C.J. Stroud is capable of with a solid pocket.

 

 

 

Bengals EDGE Trey Hendrickson ➡️ 49ers

Cincy handed Hendrickson a one-year extension in the offseason, but now not competing for a title, it’s best for both sides to move on, and the Niners badly need pass-rush help. They could also be in the market for Jets LB Quincy Williams.

 

 

 

Eagles LB Nakobe Dean ➡️ Colts

Dean took a massive step forward last season and has looked solid in his return from injury. Yet, Philly can’t afford to take rookie Jihaad Campbell off the field. Meanwhile, LB is a major weakness for Indy (no one with a PFF grade higher than 58.0).

 

 

 

Giants EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux ➡️ Ravens

Although NY’s defense has been best on defined dropbacks, putting KT on the field with Burns & Carter, they should try to get returns on the former top 10 pick, in the final year of his rookie deal. Baltimore is tied for 31st in sacks (9).

 

 

 

Jets CB Michael Carter II ➡️ Bears

NY traded for Jarvis Brownlee Jr. in Carter’s absence, who’s become a key contributor for them, limiting the veteran to 6 defensive snaps in his return. Chicago recently placed starting nickel Kyler Gordon on IR and Carter would be a great fit.

 

 

 

Cardinals SAF Jalen Thompson ➡️ Bills

Buffalo could use help at DT with Ed Oliver’s injury, but their biggest issue has been angles + missed tackles by their safeties – Thompson is right at his career average of just a 7%. Dadrion Taylor-Demerson is ready to step in for Arizona.

 

 

Other fun player-team matches:

Saints QB Spencer Rattler ➡️ Browns

Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard ➡️ Vikings

Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr. ➡️ Patriots

Titans IDL Jeffery Simmons ➡️ Cowboys

Jets LB Quincy Williams ➡️ 49ers

Vikings CB Isaiah Rodgers ➡️ Eagles

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NFL Offseason

What does success look like for your favorite NFL team in 2025?

The following conversation goes against what the NFL’s shield is trying to sell the public at the start of every single season – the idea of all 32 teams having a chance to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the end of it. As much as I love how they strive for parity, conceiving anything but achieving the ultimate goal as a failure would always leave all but one fan base dissatisfied. Generally, I sway away from asking questions like the one in the title, but due to several factors, I thought laying out which factors we should pay attention to and what constitutes a “successful campaign” was particularly interesting this year.

I’m fully aware that this by no means is an innovative concept, but looking back at this past season, I thought the gap between “the rich and the poor” was as large as ever once we got to around Thanksgiving. So I do believe it’s important to offer a frame of context for how we should probably view what these franchises are about to put onto the field once we kick things off. For some teams, simply measuring it by where the journey ends for them in 2025 is fair, yet for others, showing growth in certain areas may be even more crucial for their future outlook.

We’ll go through them all by division here!

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NFL Draft, NFL Offseason

AFC North Draft & Roster Review 2025

Flipping over to the AFC for the first time in this series, as we break down every single draft pick, in the context of rest of each team’s other offseason moves for the Ravens, Bengals, Browns and Steelers.

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NFL Playoffs

Predicting the full 2024/25 NFL playoffs:

The NFL playoff bracket is set and I took on the exercise of previewing/predicting every single matchup, leading up to Super Bowl LIX! I’ll share a few thoughts on each side and how I came to all my decisions!

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NFL Playoffs, Storylines around the NFL

New year’s resolutions for NFL playoff teams (2025):

We’ve reached the final week of the NFL season and the calendar year 2025. So, with the playoff participants at least largely established, while I’m generally not a big believer in them personally, I took the opportunity to come up with resolutions for each of the six teams who have already clinched a spot on either side of the bracket.

Since the Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals are still fighting for the final Wildcard berth in the AFC and the Atlanta Falcons could still take away the NFC South crown from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the task for them is to just take care of business (and hope for some help). Therefore, I didn’t give them their own paragraph.

For this exercise, I largely focused on personnel usage, schematic details and attitude in how teams should approach future matchups. Let’s dig in:



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NFL Film Breakdowns, What makes him so good

Who’s the NFL’s apex predator on the edge?

The Myles Garrett vs. T.J. Watt debate has long ongoing with passionate supporters on either side of it. Both have consistently been front-runners for Defensive Player of the Year honors and terrorized opposing quarterbacks. But who’s EDGE1 right now?

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NFL Film Breakdowns

Pick 6: Best defensive plays of NFL week 6 (2024)

After focusing on the top quarterback plays last week, I decided to flip things around and highlight some of my favorite defensive moments from this past week!

We’ll go through the play-calls on both sides, discussing the rules/assignments for the individual pieces and how they ended up working in concert to win those downs as a unit!

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Fantasy Football

Fantasy diamonds for 2024:

We’re just three weeks away from kicking off the 2024 NFL season and many of you are currently preparing for your fantasy drafts. So here’s my annual video on players you should be targeting, specifically in later rounds and deeper leagues!

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NFL Offseason, Storylines around the NFL

One burning question for each AFC team ahead of the 2024 season

In the second half of this little two-piece mini series, I’m switching over the AFC and ask myself “what is the one burning question I have for each team as I think about the 2024 NFL season?”

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NFL Draft, NFL Free Agency, NFL Offseason, NFL Trades

Most improved position groups across the 2024 NFL offseason:

After spending the last month reflecting on what the player acquisition process looked like for all 32 teams, with a focus on the names brought in via the draft, it’s now time to take a step back and identify the positional units that improved the most throughout this process, comparing the additions and departures at those spots.

This is purely based on the players that were brought in/let go from the point the 2023 NFL season ended onwards, not taking injuries into account. So you’re not going to find the Jets here for getting back Aaron Rodgers from the torn Achilles he suffered four snaps into his time with New York for example. Along with that, I like to take a broader look at this in terms of which position groups were stocked up best rather than just talking about a singular star performer they acquired.

Let’s dive in:

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