It's been almost two decades since the last time the Steelers had a losing season. And if a 2-6 start didn't indicate that streak could come to an end in 2022, perhaps the trade deadline did.
On Tuesday, the Steelers found themselves in a rare position as sellers and sent Chase Claypool to the Bears for their 2023 second-round pick. They weren't firm sellers though, as they also acquire cornerback William Jackson III and a conditional 2025 seventh-round pick from the Commanders for a conditional 2025 sixth-round pick.
When asked about the Claypool trade, Mike Tomlin said Wednesday, "it was about draft capital and value for us."
“Depth [at wide receiver], coupled with [tight end Pat Freiermuth’s] presence and development, is what allowed us to feel comfortable in terms of moving [Claypool] and acquiring that draft capital," Tomlin said.
The Steelers find themselves in a position where they could be sitting pretty come draft day 2023. Depending on how the second half of the season goes, they could be set up for a top-5 or -10 pick, which with the Bears' second-rounder could give them three selections in the first 40 to 50 picks.
But for that to happen, it would also signal that the second half of this season does not get much better. And despite Claypool's inconsistencies this season, he does have potential. So much so that the Bears sent a pick that could be higher than the 49th slot the Steelers selected him in 2020.
And losing Claypool takes away the Steelers' primary slot receiver, hurting a passing game that already ranks last in the league with 6 yards per attempt. The slot may not have been his best fit, but given the emergence of George Pickens and Claypool's struggles to create separation, it was the role he was given.
"I'm a playmaker," Claypool told Chicago media Wednesday. "... I feel like I didn't have the full opportunity to show what I could do this year, but I feel like I've been able to show that in the past."
Claypool also did make a couple key catches out of the slot, especially in the fourth quarter against the Buccaneers in Week 6, showing the position can be a difference maker in this offense.So while the Steelers have weapons they can go to in the passing game, it is one less option for rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett.
Dionate Johnson said that he would be willing to move into the slot if asked.
“I can play anywhere on the field," Johnson said. "I don’t have a problem with that. I’m hoping, for sure.”
Johnson also said that Steven Sims worked out of the slot in practice Wednesday.
If losing Claypool hurts the passing game, perhaps the addition of Jackson can at least stymie the opposition.
Jackson was taken by the Bengals, one pick ahead of the Steelers, in 2016, a pick that resulted in the Steelers taking Artie Burns and looking for cornerback help elsewhere in the years to come.
Jackson, meanwhile, signed a three-year, $42 million contract with Washington in 2021 that has not turned out well, so he will be looking to find his footing again.
“I don’t know what they were doing in Washington,” Teryl Austin said. “All I know is what we do it here, and we feel he fits what we do here.”
When asked if the Steelers' system fits him better, Jackson said he believes it does, and improvement "will come with repetition."
“We’re highly familiar with Will, not just from him playing in the AFC North, but pre-draft,” Tomlin said. “When he came out, he was a guy we had a lot of interest in. We like his skillset.”
Austin said that it's possible Jackson will play Week 10 against the Saints.
Injuries to the secondary and a weak pass rush have led to big plays in the passing game. Ahkello Witherspoon was twice the victim of that last Sunday, allowing long touchdowns to A.J. Brown that got him benched at halftime. The rush should improve when T.J. Watt presumably returns after the bye week, but it still leaves quite the challenge for Jackson.
“We like to get after people,” Austin said. “That’s going to put you in a lot of one-on-one situations outside, which is the hardest thing in the world. They know where you’re going, and you don’t. And you have to guard them all over the field. If you’re going to play corner here you have to be able to cover outside. And the corners here have to tackle. We expect our corners to tackle and get guys on the ground.”
Finding a corner to hang onto would be a need for the secondary, and the extra capital could help the Steelers in the long run. And though those moves were made with an eye to the future, Johnson says that doesn't impact what the team is trying to do now.
“Motivation, that’s got to come from within,” Johnson said. “If you don’t have that in you, I don’t know what to tell you, it’s gonna be kind of rough. That’s got to come from within, and I am sure everybody has got that within themselves or else they wouldn’t be here doing the things they do. Next man up. Let’s get ready to play.”
