The Oakland Raiders made a huge move when they traded for Antonio Brown, so let us revisit the trade now that the 2019 NFL Draft has finished.
The Oakland Raiders started their offseason in a big way, as they looked to revamp their wide receiver group early on. Before free agency even started, the Raiders swung a deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers for Antonio Brown, who just happens to be the best wide receiver in football.
During his time in Pittsburgh, Brown put up historical numbers, but wore out his welcome in the Steel City in recent years. Despite the distractions off the field, Brown continued to put up monster numbers on it, and the Raiders needed someone who can produce at that kind of level.
Now that he is in the Silver and Black, Brown has shown the kind of work ethic that made him a legend in Pittsburgh. He and Derek Carr have grown to be close friends, as Brown has even been to Carr’s kids birthday parties, and it appears that new general manager Mike Mayock‘s first real move will turn out to be a profitable one for the Raiders.
This is how the trade initially looked.
Originally, the Steelers were looking to get back incredible draft capital for Brown, asking for two first round picks. Later on, the Steelers moved their offer back a bit, only asking for one first rounder, but Mayock was not having it.
Over the last three days, the NFL had their 2019 draft, which was quite the party out in Nashville, Tennessee. During that time, the picks the Steelers got for Brown were revealed, as they brought in two players to bolster their offense.
Here is how the trade looks now.
The jury is out on whether or not Johnson or Gentry will be an effective player at the NFL level, though some compared Johnson to AB when he was coming out of Central Michigan. There are also those who feel the early third rounder gave the Steelers the confidence to move up in the first round, where they went up and got linebacker Devin White from Michigan.
Johnson had a very productive career at Toledo, hauling in 21 touchdowns over the past two seasons, and going for over 1,300 yards two years ago. Gentry hauled in 32 passes last season, and fill the void left by Jesse James leaving this offseason.
However, Brown is a generational talent at the position, and when all is said and done, he could be one of the top-5 in the game to ever do it. Tim Brown recently credited playing for Jon Gruden as the factor of him getting his gold jacket, and you can only imagine how Gruden is going to scheme with this kind of weapon in his offense.
If I had to give this trade a grade for the Raiders, it would have to be an A, as Brown is going to do so much more than just haul in his normal 100 passes this upcoming season. The Raiders offense had no real weapon at wide receiver for much of last season, and Carr still threw for 4,000 yards, so it will be pretty exciting to see what he can do with the likes of AB on the outside.