PITTSBURGH — Former New York Jets and new Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Brandin Echols has a goal after signing with Pittsburgh. He wants to recruit to his quarterback from the Jets, Aaron Rodgers, to the Steelers.

Echols says he and Rodgers became fixated with one another early in Rodgers’ tenure with the Steelers, and after that, the two became friends.

“It was cool, man. I couldn’t really, when he first got there I couldn’t really feel him out, but after a while we kind of gravitated towards each other and practices. He started try to attack me, but it was for the betterment of me and I would say having him around it did make me a better football player,” Echols said of Rodgers.

Echols said that he plans to recruit Rodgers to Pittsburgh and needs to ‘come on and bring his (expletive)’ to the Steelers. For Echols, he saw what Rodgers could do inside a locker room and had a lot of positives to take away from that experience.

“I’m more of a ducked-off, laid-back type of guy. I try to just get a feel for everybody and he just start pushing his way towards me and making jokes, poking at me and stuff. Then after a while we just start talking. Then I used to have a little, hair do thing that I used to do, he’ll look at me and be like, oh, if the hair is on the right side, he’s mad. If it’s on the left side, he’s happy. If it’s in the middle, you don’t know what you might get. So yeah, he was cool,” Echols said of Rodgers.

Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says money is not why Rodgers has taken his time. On top of that, the Steelers have not talked to Rodgers since they laid their offer out to him. It seems Rodgers is thinking and will decide on his time.

On top of that, another team is being floated as a contender for Rodgers. Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports that the Minnesota Vikings continue to be a lingering team that could make a run at Rodgers despite having J.J. McCarthy.

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While many would consider it past due, the Pittsburgh Steelers made a huge splash at wide receiver with the trade for DK Metcalf. He’s the type you build in Madden NFL, the ideal physical specimen who strikes fear in the opposition.

One of the best parts of Metcalf’s 2024 season was the 6-4, 235-pounder as a vertical threat. Here is a chart on deep receiving (20-plus yards) last season, including targets and Pro Football Focus (PFF) deep-receiving grades:

Metcalf tied for the most deep targets among NFL receivers (32) with Washington’s Terry McLaurin. Also, three WRs tied for the best 99.9 deep-receiving grade – the aforementioned two and George Pickens.

This also came on high volume, Pickens right behind them with 31 deep targets. So, Metcalf and Pickens were two of the best quality and quantity deep-ball WRs in the NFL last year per PFF.

This potential is quite exciting, with two excellent talents to open up the passing game and the rest of the offense. There is, of course, the question of how Pickens feels about the move, worst-case angling for a trade like his new teammate. Knock on wood that’s not the case.

To add more context to the grades, here are deep-receiving yards and touchdowns:

Metcalf lands comfortably above the mean in both. His five deep touchdowns tied for second most among qualifiers, and 489 deeps yards ranked fourth last season. He joins forces with Pickens, who led the NFL in deep yards (577) in 2024. Wow!

Assuming the duo remains, the pairing presents a daunting task for opposing teams, namely defending the deep ball. Sure, the volume will likely change, but adding another top deep threat, including TD production (which Pickens lacked in comparison) is enthralling.

Of course, Pittsburgh has a big question at the all-important quarterback position, a critical element to the topic. Those dominoes are falling, including former Steeler Justin Fields agreeing to a two-year, $40 million contract with the New York Jets.

If moon balls are your goal, 2024 Steelers starter Russell Wilson is known for just that. Plus, being a former teammate of Metcalf’s in Seattle is a strong dot connect for a potential return, though Pittsburgh’s five-game losing streak and dip in play to end 2024 left a bad taste.

The flipside is a player of Metcalf’s caliber makes any passer’s life easier. Most “upgrade” free agent QBs are off the board, and Wilson’s forte as a deep passer (NFL-best 97.3 deep-pass grade of 2024) aligns with the new-look Steeler WR room.

It’s great to see Pittsburgh’s aggressiveness, breaking historical team precedents, with the Metcalf deal. It was a shocking move in the best way possible, and on paper has the potential to create the most prolific deep-ball receiving duo in the NFL.

Here’s to hoping it transpires that way and has the Steelers’ offense humming in 2025.