Trade down discussion.
Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht seemed to send out the Bat Signal last week at the NFL owners meetings in Arizona.
“I’m interested in trading down; make me an offer.”
So if Licht is not hellbent on drafting Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq, which so many schlockers seem to believe, and instead go after Michael Trigg in the third round, follicly-challenged Billy Barnwell of BSPN has the perfect dance partner for Licht.
That would be Omar Khan, the shot-caller of the Steelers.
Barnwell, strangely, believes the Steelers will be looking to draft Aaron Rodgers’ successor at quarterback. Therefore, the Steelers and Bucs could hook up for a trade where Licht would still have a decent first-round pick, and pick up an extra third and fourth rounder.
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Buccaneers get: Round 1, 21st pick; Round 3, 76th pick; Round 4, 135th pick.
Steelers get: Round 1, 15th, Round 6, 195th pick.
For Jason Licht and the Buccaneers, trading up or down would really be about feeling out the board and whether they can be patient at their preferred positions. Cornerback and edge feel like the biggest needs for Tampa Bay, and there will be different options at different tiers throughout the first round for the Bucs. If they feel like they can trade down and still land somebody such as Mesidor, Parker or Cashius Howell (Texas A&M) at No. 21, moving down and adding two middle-rounds picks wouldn’t be too painful.
The Steelers would be moving up here in an attempt to land Simpson. There’s a decent chance that they could land him at 21, but with the Jets picking at No. 16, general manager Omar Khan would have to be reasonably worried that New York would be willing to take the Alabama quarterback in the middle of the first round as opposed to waiting until the start of Round 2.
The rules roughly go out the window when teams are moving up for quarterbacks, but this wouldn’t even be an exorbitant price, with the Steelers ceding one of their three third-round picks and a fourth-round compensatory selection to jump ahead of the Jets. While there are those in Pittsburgh who are fond of sixth-round pick Will Howard, the Ohio State product hasn’t yet taken a preseason or regular-season snap. Simpson would slot in as the QB2 in 2026 behind a veteran, most likely Aaron Rodgers, before taking over as the long-term option for the Steelers in 2027.
While on face value Joe likes this endeavor for Licht and the Bucs, this seems idiotic for the Steelers. First, in the past decade, here is the gnarly list of quarterbacks who had 15 or fewer starts but were still drafted in the first round.
Rarely do quarterbacks with so few starts in college make a dent in the NFL. For every Cam Newton, there are four or five Mitch Trubiskys.
Additionally, why would the Steelers trade up this year? For Simpson no less? Why not wait until next year when the draft is supposed to be loaded with quarterbacks?
But you know, since former Steelers owner Dan Rooney died and his son Art took over, that franchise has been circling the drain. They just may do something stupid like this.
If the Licht and the Bucs did swing this deal, with the 21st pick, that would be the range in which to draft Ohio State defensive tackle/mauler Kayden McDonald. And with that extra third-round pick, the Bucs ought to be able to land Trigg.
Ohio State DT Kayden McDonald is an absolute load for any OL to deal with
I'm always on the lookout for a 3-down DT that can play next to Chris… unfortunately, McDonald is probably worth a Day 1 pick and shouldn't be there at 40 pic.twitter.com/QOH7dvxnLz
— Ron Kopp Jr (@RonOnChiefs) February 15, 2026