Recent draft history suggests Steelers should be aggressive about trading this year’s picks

After a weekend of wondering if we needed to build an ark, let’s start the new week off with some food for thought:

• There has been a lot of talk about whether the Steelers should trade key players like TJ Watt or Minkah Fitzpatrick in order to stockpile some high draft capital or whether they should consider trading top picks for a quality quarterback.

If you examine the results of their top picks over the last 12 seasons, I think it makes a lot of sense for the team to trade its top picks for proven quality players at a position of need.

Why, you ask? Najee Harris and TJ Watt. What do they have in common?

Other than the first round picks in 2023 (Broderick Jones) and 2024 (Troy Fautanu) they are the only top picks the team has made since 2013 who are still on the roster.

And Harris, a pending free agent, has one foot out the door. The “b-word” as in bust is starting to be used to describe Jones.

When you have the lack of success the Steelers have had in the draft over the last dozen seasons, it would make a lot of sense to trade those picks for a proven commodity.

• Add Steelers: I’m not sure what the odds are of Russell Wilson staying in Pittsburgh, but I am fairly certain those odds are higher than the team keeping Justin Fields.

Fields’ 4-2 stint as a starter upped his value around the league and while nobody was after him after the 2023 season, that won’t be the case now.

I don’t think the Steelers will be willing tom come up with the $25 million to $30 million a year it will take to keep him.

• My heart took a hit recently with news of the passing of Carl Crawley.

As a kid growing up, I always got a kick out of seeing Crawley and Walt Malinchak officiating big-time NCAA football games.

Later in life, I looked forward to sitting down with him and catching up at the Ringgold-Donora-Monongahela- Mon Valley Catholic reunions organized by Larry Price.

Carl was a great guy who was loved by many. His support for Ringgold athletics will never be forgotten.

• I don’t think enough can be said about Clairton’s Iyanna Wade eclipsing 3,000 points scored. She is the third member of that exclusive club in the area, joining Monessen’s Gina Naccarato and Charel Allen.

Wade’s journey has been more impressive considering teams don’t play a maximum of 24 regular season games anymore, so that’s at least eight fewer games Wade could have played in her career.

Plus, while Naccarato and Allen each had a running mate or two in the lineup for offensive support, Wade hasn’t really had that.

She is often double- and even triple-teamed, yet she has been unstoppable.

I always knew it would be tough for kids to hit 1,000 or 2,000 points losing that many games over a career, but to hit 3,000!

Amazing.

• The transfer of Dennis Hawkins III from Monessen to Ringgold has really put a damper on the Greyhounds’ chances in the basketball playoffs.

And his loss will be felt on the football field as well.

• Whatever happened to Joe Grodz?

• With catchers and pitchers now in Bradenton and one of those pitchers happening to be named Paul Skenes, one would think the sports sections are plastered with promising news about the Pirates.

Well, there is a lot of news, but outside of Skenes, none of it is positive.

That’s because, despite having a fairly deep starting rotation led by Skenes, the Pirates have done next to nothing to bolster a lineup that is badly in need of at least one power hitter and a handful of players who have the ability to hit over .265.

How can owner Bob Nutting expect fans to grab hold and support this team when he hasn’t done anything to take advantage of the talent of Skenes and the rest of the pitching staff?

No way this team wins over 70-75 games. What a waste.

If there was ever a doubt that Nutting cares 100% about profits and zero about his team winning, it should now be officially erased.

• Every time I watch Pitt’s men’s hoops team play, I shake my head with the amount of talent on that team.

Then I shake my head about how poorly they play together.

Sure, the Panthers could use more of a presence inside, but with what they have, this should be a top 25 team, even without Damian Dunn.

• I can’t ever recall a time in his career that I rooted against Sidney Crosby. But I did Saturday night as USA defeated Canada, 3-1, in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

What a game it was with fights right off the first puck drop!

The defeat was Crosby’s first ever after 26 straight wins while representing Canada in world competition.

And the icing on the cake was former Penguin Jake Guentzel scoring the third goal to ice the win and be named the game’s No. 1 star.

USA … USA … USA!

Anyone with any thoughts, opposing views or comments on this column can reach Jeff Oliver by emailing justjto@verizon.net.