Revisiting Both Times the Steelers Robbed the Raiders in the Martavis Bryant and Antonio Brown Trades
By Adam Weinrib
No NFL team is better at turning mid-round wideouts into studs than the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But eventually, the downside rears its ugly head -- there may have been a valid reason, all those years ago, for the drop in the draft.
Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant both exploded onto the scene in the 'Burgh (to varying degrees, of course), but after they'd both boiled over, somehow the Steelers managed to offload them to the same location, one at a time. From the bottom of their Primanti Brothers-clogged hearts, Pittsburgh thanks you, Raiders.
In 2018, the Steelers traded WR Martavis Bryant to the Raiders for a 3rd-round pick.
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) March 10, 2019
In 2019, the Steelers traded WR Antonio Brown to the Raiders for just a 3rd and a 5th-round pick. pic.twitter.com/xdVTq3VvxA
Yes, in 2018, the Steelers nabbed a third-round pick in exchange for Bryant, coming off a down year, falling to just three TDs and 603 receiving yards, after hauling in eight and six scores the previous two years.
Bryant managed to last just 3.5 months in Oakland before he was indefinitely suspended by the league for violating the substance abuse policy for a third time. He'd already missed four games in 2015 and a full season in 2016. This notch has kept him out of the NFL ever since.
The pick Pittsburgh obtained, 79th overall in 2018, was used to trade up a few spots with Seattle so the Steel City could claim...Mason Rudolph. But the Steelers weren't done plundering the Raiders.
The Raiders traded a third round pick pick to the Steelers for WR Martavis Bryant in the final year of his contract. Since then:
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) December 14, 2018
* Cut on September 1
* Re-signed 10 days later
* Played in 8 games: 19 catches and 0 TD
* Placed on IR with a knee injury
* Suspended indefinitely
In 2019, the Steelers went back to the well, nabbing a third- and fifth-rounder for Antonio Brown. Only two mid-round picks for one of the best wideouts of a generation?!
Well, about that.
Brown never played A SINGLE GAME for the Raiders, somehow having less of an impact than Bryant, and freezing his feet in a cryo-tube in the process.
The picks obtained for Brown? Nos. 66 and 151, the first of which Pittsburgh kept and used on...Diontae Johnson. That mid-round WR wheel just keeps chugging along, as the Raiders continually get hit in the mouth by its spokes as it turns.