Why Trading for Avery Williamson Was the Right Move by the Steelers
Late Sunday night, the Pittsburgh Steelers made an expected, yet unexpected, move ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline. According to multiple reports, they sent a fifth-round draft pick to the New York Jets in exchange for linebacker Avery Williamson and a seventh-round pick.
After losing inside linebacker Devin Bush for the season, many believed the Steelers to be potential candidates to bolster depth at the position. Although Robert Spillane has filled Bush's spot admirably, Pittsburgh simply wasn't comfortable with the supplemented help of Ulysees Gilbert as the next inside linebacker on the depth chart.
Enter Avery Williamson.
Williamson, originally a fifth-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, now finds himself traveling to Pittsburgh after completing nearly two and a half seasons with the Jets, although 2019 was spent on the injured reserve after tearing his ACL.
As for 2020, Williamson has played in seven games thus far, totaling 50 tackles (second-most on the Jets) with three passes defended and one interception to his name. Thus far, Williamson has played 62% of possible snaps for the Jets, trailing Neville Hewitt for most snaps played at linebacker in 2020.
In the final year of his contract, Williamson had his deal re-negotiated by the Jets prior to being traded, per Ralph Vacchiano of SportsNet New York. The Steelers will only owe Williamson roughly $1.45 million of his remaining cap hit, which was nearly $5 million to begin the season.
Prior to the trade that made Williamson the newest member of the Steelers, Pittsburgh's 2022 haul of draft picks remained untouched. Now, Pittsburgh currently sits without a fifth-round pick despite possessing two seventh-round picks, with all pick-swapping kept to day three of the draft.
Colbert dealt a fifth-round selection in-season previously in 2019, as the team welcomed tight end, Nick Vannett from the Seattle Seahawks, who was also on the last year of his contract when acquired as well. The last three Steelers selected with a fifth-round pick? Zach Gentry (2019), Marcus Allen (2018) and Brian Allen (2017), totaling a whopping 11 snaps on their respective sides of the ball for the Steelers in 2020. All coming from M. Allen this past weekend.
Case in point: Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert would much rather have a player capable of making an instant impact when needed than rolling the dice on the last day of the draft, even if the current rental player may not return following the conclusion of the season.
It's unclear the role Williamson will have in the long-term, as Spillane has played fairly well since having his number called to starting levels and will likely carry that status over the remaining games.
The trade appears to be well-liked by both parties: The Steelers add needed depth behind the likes of Spillane and Vince Williams, while the Jets continue to gather some sort of compensation for guys that would not have returned past this season. New York expects to not be done moving guys ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline after starting 0-8, while the Steelers remain the league's sole undefeated team.
Coverage linebacker? Perhaps not. Williamson has allowed 25 catches on 27 targets with a completion percentage of 92%. In comparison, Devin Bush allowed 14 completions on 22 targets, with a completion percentage of 63%.
It's extremely difficult to compare Williamson (or most other linebackers) to Bush, simply due to Bush's rare athleticism at the position. Williamson is better suited (or limited, depending on what vocabulary you like) to stopping the run. Prior to his ACL tear in 2019, Williamson held the sixth-most run stops (154) since entering the league in 2014.
Should Williamson make good of his early role, his potential may lead to more opportunity down the road, especially if Spillane either declines in play or another starter is forced to miss time. Although struggling in pass coverage, perhaps a change of scenery and schematics may do Williamson some good.
The Steelers shopped and got exactly what they wanted: Williamson brings a run-stopping safety cushion to a Steelers linebacking corps that desperately needed a fresh yet experienced face. Will this move dramatically make the Steelers better? Quite frankly, no.
However, in a year where Pittsburgh has played some of their best football in recent memory, the Steelers are making sure every box is checked as the team looks all but ready to make a deep run into the playoffs.
Donnie Druin is a Staff Writer with AllSteelers. Follow Donnie on Twitter @DonnieDruin, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.
