Blockbuster NFL Trade Proposal Ships Steelers $96 Million All-Pro to Fix Defense
The Pittsburgh Steelers acquired safety Kyle Dugger from the New England Patriots on Tuesday night. But if the Steelers are open to more trading, could they be a potential fit for a massive move for a lineman such as Quinnen Williams before the NFL trade deadline next week?
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox argued the Steelers could be. Knox named the team one of two potential suitors for Williams, who made first-team All-Pro in 2022.
“A three-time Pro Bowler with 40 sacks on his NFL resume, Williams is the sort of player who would land the Jets premium draft capital that could be used to chase a quarterback in 2026,” Knox wrote. “He won’t turn 28 until December, and he’s under contract through 2027.”
Williams has posted 32 combined tackles, including seven tackles for loss in eight games this season. He also has three forced fumbles, three quarterback hits and a sack.
However, the New York Jets defensive lineman wouldn’t come cheaply. Knox argued any trade proposal for Williams should begin with a 2026 first-round pick.
That’s why pundits are likely to see any move to acquire the Jets defensive lineman as a “blockbuster.”
The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, November 4.
How Quinnen Williams Could Fit With the Steelers
The Steelers saw first hand the kind of impact Williams can make. In Week 1 versus the Steelers, Williams registered three quarterback hits, two tackles for loss, and one sack.
That’s the biggest impact the Jets defensive lineman has had on a game this season.
The Steelers offensive line had a slow start to the season, and it’s possible Williams’ big season opener was partly due to poor technique from Broderick Jones. The Steelers shouldn’t acquire Williams just because of what he did against them.
Having said that, according to the Pro Football Focus player grades, the 27-year-old has been the Jets’ best defender in 2025. He’s also been one of the top run defenders in the league this season.
The Steelers’ biggest defensive problem has been in pass coverage. But improving in run defense could help the unit dedicate more defenders against the pass.
At the very least, if Williams helped the Steelers shut down the run, Pittsburgh opponents would be one-dimensional.
Williams could improve the Steelers pass rush as well. He has recorded at least 5.5 sacks in each season since 2020.
Why the Steelers Shouldn’t Acquire Williams
Age hasn’t been a big concern for the Steelers while they’ve tried to find defensive improvements over the past couple years. But at some point, it has to become a concern.
While Williams is still on the right side of 30 (he turns 28 in December), he could be closer to his decline than his peak.
The Steelers defense arguably already has too many of those types of players. The unit has a lot of former All-Pros who aren’t playing at that level anymore in 2025. That’s likely due to age.
If this were the first veteran the Steelers were adding to their defense in quite some time, it wouldn’t be a big concern. But he’s not.
Trading a first-round pick and more selections would also very likely rule out the Steelers finding a future franchise quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft.
In March, the Steelers would still have Williams but potentially no quarterback if Aaron Rodgers doesn’t return.
Williams could be just the defensive lineman to fix multiple issues for the Steelers defense in 2025. But the team needs a youth movement along the defensive front, and adding Williams would come with just too big of a mortgage to be a good idea.
How Todd Bowles Has Improved Bucs’ Pass Rush In 2025
Todd Bowles has become emboldened this year. Provided a secondary that is now firmly in the conversation of elite, he is now leaning into the most creative version of himself. And that has been on display all year.
On the surface it may look like the same Todd Bowles defense of years past. Perhaps an even tamer version. The Bucs’ blitz rate this year is seventh in the NFL at 32.5% per NFL Pro. Compare that with last year when they ranked third at 36.5% and it looks like Bowles’ plan to be less reliant on sending extra rushers is coming to fruition. But while he may be sending heat less often, it’s at a cranked-up temperature.
Bucs’ Blitz Packages Are More Effective In 2025
Last year the Buccaneers generated pressure 43.8% of the time when they blitzed. And they secured a sack on 8.5% of those snaps. It was an effective strategy as opposing quarterbacks averaged -0.05 EPA/pass when they did get the ball out. This year, the Bucs are getting so much more out of their blitz packages. They lead the league in pressure when sending more than four rushers at 52.3%. Their sack rate is about the same at 8.4% but quarterbacks are averaging -0.13 EPA/pass.
What’s changed to create such a difference? The answer is two-fold.
Improved Personnel
The Bucs have upgraded the talent on the defense in key areas. Outside linebacker Haason Reddick has been a considerable upgrade over Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. Pro Football Focus has Reddick’s pass rush win rate at 14.8% this year vs. JTS’ 8.9% last year.
For all of his struggles in pass coverage, SirVocea Dennis is a better blitzer than his predecessor K.J. Britt. Britt only created pressure on 13.0% of his pass rushes last year, totaling just half a sack. Contrast that with Dennis’ 23.9% pressure rate and two sacks this year in just under half the games.
And having Jacob Parrish in the slot and Tykee Smith at safety is a significant upgrade over Smith in the slot with Jordan Whitehead at safety. Smith and Parrish have gotten to quarterbacks for sacks or hits five times this year on just 38 attempts (13% contact rate). Juxtapose that with last year’s duo who recorded just four such plays in 95 tries (4.2%). The common theme is improved athleticism. Specifically, all of these players drive downhill with suddenness better than their predecessors.
Parrish, Smith and Antoine Winfield Jr. all rank in the top 20 of all defensive backs in number of pass rushes. All three rank in the top 15 in pressures. And Parrish and Smith are tied atop the leaderboard in sacks by way of Pro Football Focus’ way of measuring the stat.
Increased Creativity
Beyond the improvement in talent – or perhaps because of it – Bowles is getting more aggressive in how he brings pressure. Last year, 88% of his blitzes were of a standard five-man variety per Sports Information Solutions. His six-man blitzes comprised 10% of those plays. And heavy blitzes (seven or more rushers) were just 2% of those attempts.
This year those numbers are vastly different. The five-man pressures are down to 71% while six-man rushes are up to 20% and overloads are 9%. The results speak for themselves.
But the creativity doesn’t stop with the extra rushers. Tampa Bay’s defense is pressuring quarterbacks and generating sacks at a higher rate when sending just four pass rushers. I’m sure this conjures up thoughts of a traditional four-man rush winning one-on-one. And while that is true, Bowles gets to four-man rushes in non-traditional ways via sim pressures. And those are also working extremely well. The mere threat of a Todd Bowles blitz is creating misfires with protection plans and allowing unblocked pressures/sacks happen at a fantastic clip.
Keeping Up The Pressure
The days of four-down-and-go football are mostly in the rear-view mirror. There are so few defensive fronts that can live that way these days. Bowles wasn’t wrong to say he needed to improve his four-man pass rush, but that’s only because he was so far on the other side of that teeter-totter he needed to balance out. Haason Reddick has helped with that. Yaya Diaby continues to ascend in year three.
Defensive tackle Calijah Kancey was similarly putting it all together before a torn pectoral ended his season abruptly. The Bucs have been able to replace some of his pressure with rookie Elijah Roberts, the team’s fifth-round pick. But it is Bowles who has the Bucs on pace for 53 sacks this season while ranking third in pressures.
His ability to find non-traditional paths for his second-level defenders while mixing in stunts, loops and waves is creating chaos in the best way. And with a secondary that can hold up and force quarterbacks to hold on to the ball just a hair longer, it is all coming together for a defense that now ranks seventh in EPA/play and looks to be only getting better.
