Grading the simplest Steelers-49ers trade for Brandon Aiyuk yet

We have arrived at a critical point in the offseason. Mandatory minicamps have largely come and gone, while training camp is not all that far away. Contending teams like the San Francisco 49ers will have a Super Bowl to contend for, while lesser teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers think they still have an outside shot at it. So with that in mind, let's say these two teams could maybe strike a deal here?

Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report outlined a series of trades late last week that could shock the NFL and impact playoff races. As simple as possible, he suggested that the 49ers trade wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who is playing out his fifth-year option, to the Steelers for their first-round pick in 2025. Ideally, this move does make sense, but the math with Aiyuk's next contract complicates things.

Here is what the proposed trade would look like to get Aiyuk to leave San Francisco for Pittsburgh.

Where things stand now, Aiyuk is slated to make a shade over $3.1 million for 2025, while the Steelers' first-round pick in 2025 carries an APY of roughly $8.93 million. Obviously, with Aiyuk's new contract he would have to get at least an additional $5.8 million for the dollars and cents to make sense. To be fair, he will probably garner way more than that on a new deal, or after getting tagged.

Let's unpack if this is a fair trade to be made between the 49ers and Steelers involving Aiyuk or not.

How Pittsburgh Steelers trade for San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk

Since we cannot operate from knowing that the Steelers would certainly extend Aiyuk after his fifth-year option season, it is hard to say if the 49ers would be getting enough in return by merely giving the Steelers their first-round pick in next spring's draft. While I wouldn't say that Aiyuk is a record-setting wide receiver from a financial standpoint, he is worth as least $20 million annually.

What I would want is something closer to $10 million-plus worth of assets coming the 49ers' way if they were to move on from him. That would help free up enough financial capital to extend another star player or sign someone decent off the street. Asking for something closer to $20 million is probably too big of a pill to swallow for the Steelers, so the 49ers will have to be very careful with this.

Ultimately, I side on the idea of simply making something happen. Therefore, I would not have much of a problem of moving on from Aiyuk in exchange for the Steelers' first-round pick next year. While the 49ers have certainly had some interesting drafts with John Lynch at the helm of the operation, they do tend to hit more than the miss. A mid-to-late first-round pick seems like enough cushion.

With time being of the essence, I am actually in favor of the trade that Davenport is proposing here.

Trade Grade: A