3 emergency trades Steelers must make after whiffing hard on DeAndre Hopkins

Acquiring DeAndre Hopkins was a smart move by the Kansas City Chiefs – their quarterback is 35 years old and they feature a high-priced defense with most of those stars at the tail end of their primes. Oh, wait, I had the wrong team! No, that's the Pittsburgh Steelers, which whiffed again on a star wide receiver to play across the formation from George Pickens, who would benefit greatly from such an investment.

On the one hand, I've learned not to question Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin, as the latter has earned his stripes and proved so just last week when he started Russell Wilson over Justin Fields. But as impressive as Khan's first draft classes have looked so far, he's valued those picks a little too much.

The Chiefs took on half of Hopkins contract and sent a conditional fourth-round pick to the Tennessee Titans. To the untrained eye, that sound reasonable, especially for a player who can still stretch the field on the opposite side of 30. Pittsburgh's receiving corps currently features Pickens, Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin. If you combined the latter two, then perhaps you'd create one WR2.

Thankfully, there are still a few weeks until the trade deadline, and an opportunity for Khan to right his wrongs.

3. Steelers have been in on Mike Williams this whole time

I don't quite get Pittsburgh's infatuation with Mike Williams. He's probably the fourth-best receiver on the New York Jets. While the Steelers receiver room is lacking, is he really the kind of difference-maker who is going to lead Pittsburgh on a postseason run? I'd lean hard no.

Williams is on an expiring contract, which makes him an attractive asset. Perhaps the biggest selling point for Khan is that he can be had for a cheaper price tag than the Jets paid for Davante Adams, and the Chiefs just gave Tennessee. That's nice, I guess.

Williams has 11 catches for 160 yards on the season without a single score. He has an unlucky history with injuries, and he has two 1,000-yard campaigns under his belt from his time with the Los Angeles Chargers. He was also called out by Aaron Rodgers just a few weeks ago for bad route-running.

Khan should aim higher, but I doubt he will.

2. Jakobi Meyers should be made available by the Raiders

Vegas just traded Adams a week ago, but it's unlikely they're done dealing with two weeks before the deadline. Jakobi Meyers has struggled some with injuries this season, but when he's been healthy he's a force to be reckoned with, and certainly qualified to be the Steelers WR2 next to Pickens.

Meyers has 25 catches for 273 yards and a touchdown so far this season with Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell throwing him the football. I'd be willing to bet those numbers go up in the Steelers system. Meyers also has two years remaining on his contract, so Pittsburgh would avoid an offseason distraction should this experiment work out.

The Raiders are a team in transition, and have finally accepted their fate. Antonio Pierce is a nice story but Vegas is unlikely to make a postseason run anytime soon without the right franchise QB and pieces around that player. This is what makes draft picks, even Day 3 selections, all the more valuable. Meyers won't be a member of the next great Raiders playoff team, one way or another. Why not get something for him?

1. Every team, including the Steelers, should call about Cooper Kupp

Cooper Kupp knows he's been floated in trade rumors. The Rams are at the bottom of the NFC West and have an aging core. The time is now to cash in on those assets if Sean McVay hopes to rebuild on the fly. Whether he is actually willing to do that is anyone's guess.

Through no real fault of his own, Kupp's production has dropped significantly since the Rams won the Super Bowl. Kupp has played in just two games this season, and in the two years prior appeared in just 12 and nine games respectively. He cannot and should not be counted on to take the lion's share of targets from any quarterback, including Matthew Stafford. Quietly, the Rams have built a younger receiving corps that no longer relies so heavily on Kupp's production. That is why they can afford to trade him and, more importantly, his salary.

The reason Kupp can be had despite being one of the better receivers in the NFL when healthy is that he has three years and $80 million remaining on his contract. That includes an out after this season which comes with a $22 million+ dead cap hit. Yikes! However, if Kupp can continue to produce and stay healthy, having him on the team beyond this season suddenly becomes a positive.

The Steelers can afford Kupp in part because Wilson's contract is so affordable right now. Depending on how much money Pittsburgh is willing to take on, they might be able to lower the asking price for Kupp's services as well. It's worth the call.