3 Pittsburgh Steelers trade scenarios in the 2022 NFL Draft

Rich Barnes – USA TODAY Sports
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ decision to sign Mitchell Trubisky, the former Chicago Bears first-round winner, rather than trade for an heir apparent to recently retired quarterback Ben Roethlisberger puts this team in a precarious position.
Incumbent general manager Kevin Colbert may have to trade in the 2022 NFL Draft to land this franchise quarterback. The backdrop here is a Steelers copper who still thinks he can compete for a playoff spot in 2022 and move on.
With seven selections in the 2022 NFL Draft, we take a look at three ideal Pittsburgh Steelers trade scenarios at the annual event in Las Vegas later this month.
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Pittsburgh Steelers trade Cameron Sutton

Pittsburgh could use an extra pick or two in the draft. The idea is to walk a tightrope between short-term discord and long-term relevance. If so, moving an impending 2023 free agent into cornerback Cameron Sutton’s might make sense at the annual event.
The Steelers re-signed Ahkello Witherspoon in free agency and added another starter in Levi Wallace from the conference rivals Buffalo Bills. They also have Justin Layne to fill slot corner duties. Of course, adding another corner in the draft should be in the cards. But there may be no room for Sutton after some major struggles in 2021.
It came after Sutton had just a 79.8 part-time passer rating for the Steelers in 2020. The former Tennessee standout is still just 27 and could allow Pittsburgh to pick and to change mid-term.
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Pittsburgh Steelers trade Jalen Reagor

Pittsburgh lost wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Washington in free agency — creating a deep void on the roster. Chase Claypool is a decent target despite a down 2021 season. Meanwhile, Diontae Johnson erupted for 1,161 yards as a third-year rusher in 2021.
Even then, adding a slot type to go along with these two makes sense. That’s where Reagor comes in. The former Texas first-round pick Christian struggled in two seasons with Philadelphia and could potentially be obtained in a trade. Why not see if a change of scenery will do him any good by giving the state-rival Eagles a midterm pick?
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Pittsburgh Steelers trade for quarterback

Picking 20th overall, Pittsburgh isn’t necessarily in a great position to add one of the few first-round prospects to the 2022 NFL Draft. He might be forced to reach someone like North Carolina’s Sam Howell. That wouldn’t be an ideal scenario in Colbert’s final draft as Steelers general manager.
Instead, the highly respected front office chief is using future draft capital as his Pittsburgh Steelers trade for someone like Liberty’s Malik Willis or Pitt Panthers’ Kenny Pickett. Maybe Desmond Ridder becomes an option. These Steelers have shown interest in the former Cincinnati star throughout the pre-draft process.
Pittsburgh has kicked that quarterback situation for far too long. Trubisky is not the long term solution. Now is the time for the Steelers to bite the bullet and trade for a potential franchise quarterback. It’s so simple.
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