Track Record Proves Steelers Embarrass Other Teams, Exploiting Inflated Value Of Fading WR1s

The Pittsburgh Steelers have cultivated several reputations throughout their history. From producing Hall of Fame talent from overseen prospects, to re-writing the rulebook, to reinventing the way scouts evaluate young players. The Steelers’ impact on the league is profound. Off the field, fans were able to watch one of the best front-office personnel members in Kevin Colbert construct a series of championship-winning teams in the 21st century. Through a career that spanned 22 years, Colbert swindled, wheeled and dealt in ways that may have seemed shocking at the time, only to pay off in hindsight.

Current Steelers’ General Manager, Omar Khan, spent 20 years with Colbert in the Steelers’ front office. The two worked in tandem in their scouting and drafting, free agency acquisitions and trade procedures. Through those, there have been memorable transactions, but there has been an underlying trend spread across them.

Each organization has their own unique way of conducting business. Some like to build their roster organically through the draft, while others like to leverage the free agency market. Some organizations put value on select positions on the roster and others place that value elsewhere. While the Steelers don’t necessarily operate opposite of the other 31 clubs in the league, they have found a way to exploit how those other teams value one of the most exciting positions in the entire sport; the wide receivers.

The Steelers Have Found A Way To Drive The NFL's Wide Receiver Market

Throughout Colbert’s and Khan’s tenure, the Steelers have executed ten trades that involved wide receivers in some form or fashion. Those trades began with acquiring Freddie Milons in 2003 from the Philadelphia Eagles for a conditional draft pick. Since then, they have included the likes of Santonio Holmes, Mike Wallace, Sammie Coates, Martavis Bryant, Antonio Brown, and most-recently, Chase Claypool.

It is in those names where the Steelers have made a name for themselves by taking advantage of their widespread notoriety towards the wide receiver position. Teams know the Steelers understand how to scout, prospect, draft, and develop young pass-catchers into becoming top talent in the league. While the track record certainly proves that, the Steelers seem to be using their own version of reverse pyschology with teams who are looking to capitalize on the Steelers’ scouting efforts.

Looking at those names above, there is one common denominator across them. Each of them was drafted by the Steelers, posted impressive numbers on paper, only to not repeat those with their following clubs. For example, let’s look at Holmes. In the 2006 NFL Draft, the Steelers traded with the New York Giants to get the 25th overall selection, which they ultimately used on Holmes. 

Holmes showed he could be a high-end receiver and tallied 3,835 receiving yards in 235 receptions. In addition, he scored 20 touchdowns. Not to mention, he was awarded the Most Valuable Player after famously scoring the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLIII. Leading into the 2010 NFL Draft, the Steelers traded Holmes away to the New York Jets for their fifth-round pick. 

The Jets thought they landed a repeat Super Bowl champion, only for those expectations to not transpire. After Holmes left Pittsburgh, he only posted 2,195 receiving yards on 154 catches with 16 touchdowns. Holmes was able to post better numbers in his four years in Pittsburgh than he did in his following five years with other teams.

If we compare the group’s combined numbers, the trend continues. Amongst them, they put up 23,491 receiving yards on 1,608 catches and scored 157 touchdowns while playing as members of the Steelers. Included in those are the best seasons of each of those players’ careers, statistically speaking. When we compare the numbers that followed their departures from Pittsburgh, they fell short of their historic performances. They include 7,797 receiving yards on 588 catches with 50 touchdowns. That comes to 15,694 less yards, 1,020 less receptions and 107 less touchdowns.

Let's take the trend a step further. You’re probably thinking of the obvious outlier being Brown. Brown alone tallied over 11,000 receiving yards, over 800 receptions, and 74 touchdowns in Pittsburgh. Fans everywhere are all familiar with what transpired after Brown was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders. So, let’s completely eliminate Brown’s numbers from the equation. This comes to 12,284 receiving yards, 771 catches, and 83 touchdowns from the collective group. In the post-Pittsburgh era, we saw 6,713 yards, 497 receptions, and 41 touchdowns. Even with Brown not being considered in this set, the trend holds true.

Claypool to the Chicago Bears was one of Khan’s first trades as General Manager. In turn, the Bears gave the Steelers their second-round pick in this year’s draft, which would eventually turn into the 32nd overall selection. The Steelers used that to select Joey Porter Jr. and things in Pittsburgh seemed to have worked out in their favor. If we fast forward to more recent, reports came out of Chicago indicating Claypool was on his last breath with the Bears heading into training camp. As of now, it looks like the trend is living itself out through Claypool and the Bears.

With history now behind us, there are most certainly skeptics asking about who is next to follow this trend. Who could we see depart from Pittsburgh, only to fall short of expectations in his new city? For reference, Holmes and Wallace left after four seasons with the Steelers. Bryant was traded after four calendar years in Pittsburgh, but only played three seasons due to his season-long suspension in 2016. Coates was traded after two seasons. Claypool logged roughly two and a half seasons with the Steelers before he was traded away. Brown played nine seasons.

With the Steelers bolstering a young, robust receiving corps in 2023, it is obviously too early to speculate as to who is next to fall. However, that doesn’t mean it is not going to happen. There is going to come a time in the near future where one of the pass catchers on today’s roster is going to be dealt away and will fall victim to the trend. It is just a matter of time in determining who that victim will be and how Khan will work his magic again to secure another draft pick in the first 32 selections.

Have you noticed this trend? Who do you think is going to fall victim next?