We are just hours away from the NFL trade deadline. In the weeks leading up to this moment, Pittsburgh Steelers fans have been banging the table for general manager Omar Khan to add help at the wide receiver position. After upsetting the top-ranked Indianapolis Colts team in Week 9, there's even more incentive to get aggressive at the deadline.
But the perfect Steelers trade block candidate isn't a wide receiver; it's Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Eric Stokes.
Cornerback is a position that has become a glaring need in recent weeks. Pittsburgh has the league's worst-ranked pass defense in the NFL, entering Week 10—allowing a whopping 278.3 passing yards per game.
With Darius Slay struggling in coverage, the Steelers' biggest weakness has been amplified. Mike Tomlin's defense has allowed a 300-yard passer in three straight weeks and in four of the last five weeks. But the Steelers can't expect things to get better without a drastic change.
That's where Stokes comes in.
The Pittsburgh Steelers should trade for Las Vegas Raiders CB Eric Stokes before the deadline
When talking about cornerbacks on the trade block, Stokes' name is one that doesn't often come up. However, the Las Vegas Raiders dropped to 2-6 on the season after Week 9, and with the Chiefs, Broncos, and Chargers in their division, this team should be having a fire sale.
Unloading Stokes could make sense for both teams. Stokes, a first-round pick of the Green Bay Packers in 2021, didn't live up to his billing in his first four years. Now on the Raiders, Stokes is quietly having a career year.
In seven starts this season, Stokes has been credited with allowing just nine receptions on 20 targets for 105 yards. This equates to just 5.3 yards per target and a completion rate of merely 45 percent, per Pro Football Reference. Though he hasn't had an interception since his rookie season, Stokes has allowed a passer rating of just 61.5 on the season and hasn't surrendered a touchdown in coverage this year.
That's just part of what makes a trade candiate like this so intriguing.
In addition to having a career year and proving to be a lockdown option on 458 defensive snaps so far this season, Stokes has a fantastic combination of youth, talent, and upside. Stokes is a 26-year-old cornerback with a 6'1'', 193-pound frame and 4.31 speed. His youth and athletic traits would be a most welcome addition to an aging and overall slow Steelers secondary.
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Stokes also has a more-than-affordable contract, with a base salary of just $1.5 million, per Over the Cap—roughly half of which has already been paid by the Raiders. He's on a one-year, prove-it contract, which will expire after the season.
Because of how well he's played, Las Vegas may intend to lock him up to a multi-year deal. But the Raiders are willing to slap a franchise tag on him (and they won't be), Stokes will be an unrestricted free agent during the 2026 offseason. A bad team should get some sort of draft capital for him now, rather than let him walk away for nothing in a few months.
We'll see how aggressive Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan choose to be at the trade deadline, but Eric Stokes is a sneaky-good trade block candidate the Pittsburgh Steelers should attempt to land.