A Steelers-Giants trade to give Justin Fields a better chance to throw the ball

The NFL season is here, and football fans couldn't be any more excited about it. It took exactly one week of play for teams and their fans to identify the holes in their rosters and start exploring potential trades.

For the Pittsburgh Steelers, that hole is at wide receiver.

Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report put together an "NFL Trade Block Big Board Entering Week 2" article this week, listing the top ten potential trade targets. On that list was New York Giants receiver Darius Slayton, who Knox directly connected to the Steelers.

"Giants receiver Darius Slayton is in a situation similar to Woods. He's stuck behind a younger group of receivers and may not fill a significant role in 2024," Knox wrote. "The Pittsburgh Steelers should consider adding a veteran receiver like Slayton to a group that lacks depth behind No. 1 target George Pickens. In Week 1, Pickens led the Steelers with 85 receiving yards, while Calvin Austin III and Van Jefferson—the only other wideouts to log receptions—combined for eight yards."

Here are the Week 1 stats from Pittsburgh's four wide receivers that took the field in Week 1:

See the issue?

A Steelers-Giants trade to bring Justin Fields another pass catcher

It's obvious that Mike Tomlin, Justin Fields and the rest of the Steelers offense needs another weapon out wide. With Knox's recommendation above, the Steelers could target the aforementioned Slayton to upgrade their wide receiver room.

Beginning with the Giants, they don't really have much of a need for Slayton anymore. Their offense is younger than Slayton, who's 27, and by the time that New York is ready to compete, he's going to be out of his contract or out of his prime. Adding draft capital for him would be smart.

For the Steelers, they would send two picks that aren't even originally their picks in order to pick Slayton up. Slayton isn't a world beater, but he's better than what they have now. After whiffing on Brandon Aiyuk and a few others, the Steelers need to add another wide receiver, or defenses will key in on George Pickens and Justin Fields will struggle.

Before Steelers fans begin trashing Slayton, let's look at what he's done in his career. Slayton is in his sixth season in the NFL. In his first five years, he recorded at least 700 receiving yards in four of the five seasons. He's done this with Daniel Jones as his quarterback, mind you.

Again, Slayton isn't the piece that sends them to the Super Bowl, but he would certainly make them a better team on offense.