The Steelers' haul of players for Antonio Brown is hugely disappointing
The Pittsburgh Steelers used the selections they netted in the trade for Antonio Brown. The results aren't great.
When the Pittsburgh Steelers dealt Antonio Brown to the Oakland Raiders, the haul looked underwhelming — very underwhelming. But an optimist might have provided the following response: “let’s wait until we see what kind of players the Steelers can get with those picks.”
Well, we finally got a look, with the Steelers making their selections from the trade in the 2019 NFL Draft. They selected Toledo receiver Diontae Johnson in the third round and Michigan tight end Zach Gentry in the fifth round. Those optimists have probably gone quiet.
With Brown ripped the Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger and others before getting dealt from Pittsburgh, he made it almost impossible for the Steelers to get a decent haul. His Twitter tantrums killed the Steelers trade leverage to the point where their return in picks was ugly — and it looks no better after those picks turned into players.
Antonio Brown Raiders-Steelers trade is now complete:
Raiders get Antonio Brown.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 27, 2019
Johnson has impressive athleticism, with a 4.53-second 40-yard dash and a 7.03-second 3-cone drill. That’s a nice combination for a 5-foot-10, 180 yard receiver. But he only had one strong season of college production, exploding in 2017 with 74 receptions for 1,278 yards and 13 touchdowns. In 2018, he couldn’t match the production with 49 receptions for 761 yards and eight touchdowns. At one point, the Steelers earned a reputation for drafting and developing receivers with Brown and Emmanuel Sanders. Most recently, they hit on JuJu Smith-Schuster. But that history has grown checkered with receiving busts in Markus Wheaton, Martavis Bryant, Dri Archer, Sammie Coates and, perhaps, James Washington.
Gentry finished his 2018 season with 32 receptions for 514 yards and two touchdowns. A little underwhelming, right? That’s probably why NFL.com considered him likely to be an undrafted free agent. But the Steelers liked him in the fifth round.
Trading Brown was never going to work out for the Steelers. The post-draft results of the trade definitively do not change that.