Steelers' Vision For New Trade Acquisitions Gets Revealed

The Pittsburgh Steelers have just completed a massive trade to bring in cornerback Jalen Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith from the Miami Dolphins in exchange for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and a Day 3 pick swap in 2027. There are a lot of moving parts in this deal (in more ways than one) with money being a factor for both former Dolphins players to seek new homes. The whole ordeal is wild and unexpected, but Pittsburgh won't just do trades for the sake of doing trades. They do have an idea behind all this. 

Steelers insider Mark Kaboly explained what he was told about what the Steelers expect to get in 2025 from both Smith and Ramsey. 

The Steelers have always been big fans of versatility, especially during the Mike Tomlin era. Fitzpatrick's calling card coming out of college was just that, but he never truly excelled outside of safety during his career. Not only does the team now think they have more versatile players, but they believe they filled major holes with these moves. That's just one of the "moving parts" of this trade in its entirety.

Smith is coming off of a career year where he had 88 receptions, 884 yards, and eight touchdowns. He has always been more of a receiver than a blocker, and with the Steelers' lack of depth at wideout, they think they got a man that can add a lot to the receiving game. His addition means that Pittsburgh will be more willing to run 12 and 13 personnel (two and three tight end sets) to utilize their deep core at the position. 

Of course, Smith also reunites with Arthur Smith, who coached him in two different spots. Jonnu Smith began his career with the Tennessee Titans, where Arthur Smith was the tight ends coach before becoming the offensive coordinator. During the coach's final year with the Atlanta Falcons, the team traded away a seventh-round pick to unite them a second time, so this deal is not the first instance of the Smiths coming together via a trade.

Steelers Are Looking To Use Previous Winning Formula

The Steelers have had past success with turning aging veterans into quality slot corner/safety options, and that is the plan here. In fact, trading Fitzpatrick away has left a gaping hole in the safety depth chart, so Ramsey will likely have to help out there as well, especially when the rest of the slot corner depth chart is ready for their shot. Beanie Bishop Jr. had four interceptions in a quality rookie year, so he will still be fighting with the veteran for reps there. 

The Steelers have another aging veteran cornerback on the outside in Darius Slay, so there could be some rotation there as well. Brandin Echols was also signed as a versatile cornerback, so they will be competing for reps on the inside and outside tool. However, with the raise that Ramsey is reportedly receiving, it sounds like he will be getting the bulk of the snaps no matter what.

With all these moves the Steelers have made at cornerback, Joey Porter Jr. may see fewer snaps in his third year as the Steelers attempt to get more rotation and communication going with the older players. There will be a lot of competition between the five corners for snaps during the season. There are a lot of dogs and so few bones, so training camp will be very interesting for that position group.

What do you think about the reasoning for the Steelers trading for Smith and Ramsey? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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