Saunders: Claypool Trade Signals Steelers See Multi-Year Rebuild

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers used the No. 49 overall pick to get wide receiver Chase Claypool in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Two and a half seasons and 2,000 yards later, they’re getting a high second-round pick back for Claypool, trading him to Chicago for the Bears’ second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The 3-5 Bears currently hold the No. 11 overall pick in the first round, so the pick the Steelers acquired is currently 43rd.

It’s more than an appropriate return for the talented but inconsistent receiver. The Steelers were asking for a Christian McCaffrey-like return. They didn’t quite get that, as McCaffrey went from the Carolina Panthers to the San Francisco 49ers for second, third, fourth and fifth-round picks.

But they got close enough for where they stand right now.

That’s the thing about what the Claypool trade really says about the Steelers. They got good value for Claypool compared to the market. But trading the end of the third season of Claypool’s career and the fourth season of Claypool’s career to get nothing for the rest of the 2022 and what will be a second-round rookie in 2023 is a big loss.

The trade still makes sense because the Steelers will have that second-round pick for three more seasons after that. But that makes it a real rarity in evaluating Steelers moves: one focused on the far future and not the present or near future.

This trade will definitely make the Steelers worse in 2022. It will likely make the Steelers worse in 2023.

Those are the kind of moves that have been extremely rare for the Steelers under Kevin Colbert, even with the expected transition at quarterback following the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger. 

But it appears that Omar Khan has taken stock of the Steelers’ situation midway through the 2022 season and believes that not only is a second-half comeback to rescue a playoff bid from this season is unlikely, but that he doesn’t have the cap space and draft capital required to improve the overall talent of the team in time to seriously contend in 2023, either.