In the end, it was much to do about nothing. The San Francisco 49ers have signed Brandon Aiyuk to a 4 year 120 million dollar contract, thus ending speculation that he would be traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
- Has a Steelers non-transaction ever generated more sound and fury on digital media?
I daresay no. But it does remind me of a similar situation in the pre-digital era when the Steelers went after Alvin Harper, then a blue chip wide out from the Dallas Cowboys who were in the middle of their second Super Bowl era. Tom Donahoe and Bill Cowher tried to move heaven and earth to bring Harper to Pittsburgh, but failed.
As it turns out, they got lucky. History may have just repeated itself with Brandon Aiyuk.
Brandon Aiyuk beats Patrick Peterson for a touchdown. Photo Credit: 49ers.com
The Case for Brandon Aiyuk
For the first time in his tenure as Steelers General Manager Omar Khan is taking social media heat for “botching” the trade for Aiyuk. Whether you agree or hold a different view, it is easy to understand why.
Offensive line injuries and secondary suspensions aside, the Steelers open the season with perhaps the best depth they’ve enjoyed in over a decade. Except at wide receiver, where the cupboard is bare.
- Outside of George Pickens the Steelers do not have a proven wideout.
Van Jefferson might prove himself as a viable number 2 NFL wideout, but he’s a question mark. We were told Calvin Austin looked good in training camp and he did have an almost touchdown in the preseason loss to the Texans, but he’s still more about potential than production. Roman Wilson is a rookie who was injured for much of the summer. Scott Miller is fast, but he’s got 85 receptions in 5 years of NFL service.
- Brandon Aiyuk had 75 catches in 2023 alone.
No one argues that the Steelers wide receiving room could use a shot in the arm. But would Brandon Aiyuk have provided that shot? Maybe, but I still can’t help thinking back to Alvin Harper.
Alvin Harper, the Steeler that Never Was
Jimmy Johnson drafted Alvin Harper in the first round of the 1991 NFL Draft and by his second year, Haprer was the number 2 wide receiver on the Cowboys 1992 Super Bowl squad.
By his third season, Harper had a second Super Bowl ring and entered the 1994 off-season as a restricted free agent as the top wideout on the market.
And the Pittsburgh Steelers were in hot pursuit. This was completely uncharacteristic of them. The Steelers approach to free agency was to focus on resigning their own players.
But the Steelers were aggressive. They didn’t simply make Harper an offer, they were willing to give Dallas first and third round picks commensurate to his restricted free agent status. Harper didn’t sign, seeking a larger signing bonus.
Even after the restricted free agency signing period ended, the Steelers tried to work a trade with the Cowboys, to no avail. He returned to Dallas for the 1994 season, where he caught 8 touchdowns and averaged an eye-popping 24.9 yards per catch.
After the 1994 season Harper became an unrestricted free agent, and quickly signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for 4 year and $10,600,000. That was an enormous sum for 1995.
Yet Harper never caught more than 46 balls for the Buccaneers. After just two years, Tampa Bay gave up on him, as he played a year in Washington, and then finished his career in Dallas with 2 catchless games in 1999.
Suffice to say few fans would ever remember the franchise’s flirtation with Harper, let alone regret missing out on him.
Yes Aiyuk IS Better than Harper, But….
Of course Alvin Harper doesn’t offer a perfect parallel to Brandon Aiyuk.
Comparing their numbers means little given how much has changed between eras. But Harper was clearly Robin to Michael Irvin’s Batman. To stick with comic book analogies, Deebo Samuel and Aiyuk form a Wolverine/Nightcrawler like tandem – both are putting up number 1 worthy numbers.
- But winning in the salary cap age is as much about cost-benefit as it is about performance
So from that perspective, it is fair to ask if Aiyuk would have been worth the 120 million dollars and the multiple premium draft picks it would have cost to bring him to Pittsburgh.
As Matt C. Steel pointed out on Steel City Insider, the 49ers lost three straight games without Samuel in the line up last year, showing “that Aiyuk’s talent didn’t override Samuel’s loss.”
Mega contracts for wide receivers might be in vogue in today’s NFL. But receivers haven’t proven they deserve to be served such large pieces of the salary cap pie. Tyreek Hill is clearly a great NFL wide receiver, but all the Chiefs have done since shipping him off to Miami is win back-to-back Super Bowls.
- Would the Steelers wide receiver room be stronger with Brandon Aiyuk in it?
Yes. Will the Steelers regret not trading for him if George Pickens gets hurt? Absolutely. But Omar Khan, Andy Weidl and Mike Tomlin have thus far taken a foundational approach to rebuilding this roster.
They’ve been able to do that because they’ve had draft capital and salary cap space. Trading for Aiyuk may have sacrificed a bit too much of both. Time will tell, but perhaps someday we’ll look back and think of Brandon Aiyuk this era’s Alvin Harper.
