When it comes to winning in the NFL, it's all about having a high-octane offense. Especially since the NFL is a passing league above anything else. Rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett showed some signs of brilliance last season but in the grand scheme of things, the Steelers need more offensive power if he's to be developed into a future franchise quarterback.
As the Steelers prepare for free agency and the 2023 NFL Draft, there might be a viable wide receiver option if they're able to make a reasonable trade happen this offseason. It's no secret that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to be a heavily rebuilding team for the future. They sacrificed their future once Tom Brady was in town and won a Super Bowl that they will undoubtedly be paying for it over the next few years.
Top wide receiver Mike Evans is entering the final year of his contract as he's set to be an unrestricted free agent in 2024. This makes him a perfect candidate to be traded now rather than later by the Buccaneers. Even though it would be crazy to think he would ever be traded after everything he's accomplished with the Buccanneers but at the end of the day, it's all about business.
Steelers should pursue trading for Mike Evans if he is available in 2023
If the Steelers can make a reasonable trade involving perhaps a mid to late-round draft pick or two, it would very well be worth making to bring someone like Evans to the black and yellow. Besides being an immediate No. 1 veteran wide receiver, it would further help in the overall progression of Pickett since he'd have a Super Bowl-winning target on offense.
In the past eight years, Evans has always been above 1,000 receiving yards every season and put up some serious stats. He's clutch when you need him to be and besides what he would bring to the gridiron for the Steelers, it's also the leadership he'd bring to the locker room as well.
Evans is a natural-born leader and would be an incredible veteran mentor to have that would also help all the young wide receivers around him on the Steelers to become even better. No matter which way you look at it, it would be a win-win situation and if it costs the Steelers a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick to acquire him via trade, they should consider that in a heartbeat thanks to everything he would bring to the franchise.
Evans will hit 30 years old in August before the regular season starts but easily has a few more good years left in him to make one final splash in the NFL. Going to the Steelers with a young potential future franchise quarterback, a future Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach in Mike Tomlin, and an exciting core of wide receivers that would learn so much from him would be a great situation for Evans to be a part of.
Even if the Steelers could get three productive seasons out of Evan as he reaches the end of his playing career, that would help speed things along in their current rebuild. It would be exactly what the Steelers' offense needs and would help continue shaping the locker room up for success sooner rather than later.