A chin-scratching Steelers trade rumor bubbled to the surface Wednesday. JuJu Smith-Schuster to the San Francisco 49ers for a first-round pick.

Rumor has it? #49ers called and checked on the availability of #Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster. #NFL #NFLDraft2020 Some things to note #PittsburghSteelers have no number one pick and this would be a return home for the #USC star. pic.twitter.com/WmqsxrG2wq

— NFL Rumors (@nflrum0rs) April 20, 2020

Originally tweeted out Monday, the story didn’t get much traction until “12up” reposted it on Wednesday. That’s when Pittsburgh and San Francisco fans started to kick it around the internet and on sports talk radio.

By Wednesday afternoon, many outlets dismissed it in Pittsburgh. And nationally, too.

You may have JuJu Smith-Schuster linked to the Niners in a possible trade. Well-placed source says there is NO truth to the rumor that JuJu could potentially be available for a trade. Exhale Steelers fans.

— Judy Battista (@judybattista) April 22, 2020

Exhale? Hmm. I’m not sure. I might have wanted to hold my breath on that one a little longer.

Let’s surf through this for a minute.

Not because I think there’s truth to the rumor. I don’t.

But there is some logic to it. Not enough. But some.

I’m guessing the report is referencing the 31st pick in the first round. The 49ers have the 13th pick (via Indianapolis), too. I assume San Francisco is keeping the higher one.

The belief is that the Steelers would be able to trade Smith-Schuster for a first-rounder at pick No. 31. Theoretically, they would get to keep their second-round and third-round picks, too.

General manager Kevin Colbert has already praised this wide receiver class. And free agency is coming up after 2020 for Smith-Schuster.

A lot of Steelers fans are already lobbying for the Steelers to pick a wide receiver with their first choice at No. 49 in Round 2 anyway.

I co-sign on that desire. It’s just that the new rookie would presumably begin 2020 as the fourth or fifth target on the depth chart if Smith-Schuster is still on the club.

So, if many of us think it’s a good idea for the Steelers to draft a wide receiver at No. 49, why not move up 18 spots and get a better one? After all, a run on wideouts could come at any point in the top 50, with as many as 17 projected in the top 100 prospects.

That also clears the way for the Steelers to use their second- and third-round picks on some combination of running back, nose tackle, pass rusher, offensive line and inside linebacker.

If the Steelers were to somehow get top-three-round quality at three of those five positions, that would be one heckuva draft. Especially considering that, as of the morning of Round 1, they are entering it without a first-round pick.

Smith-Schuster may leave via free agency next spring or will cost a boatload to keep. The new No. 31 wide receiver would be under control for five years. At least two or three of those campaigns would be with Ben Roethlisberger and then would bridge to a new quarterback.

That makes the trade sound like a great idea.

Here’s the rub, though.

For as bumpy of a season as Smith-Schuster had in 2019, do you really want to take him away from Roethlisberger? I don’t.

JuJu is the only rostered wide receiver with any sort of significant on-field experience with Roethlisberger. For as veteran as “Big Ben” may be, does Colbert really want to throw that much unfamiliarity at him after a year away from competition?

And if the entire 2020 Steelers season is built on the conviction that Roethlisberger is going to fix almost everything on offense just by his return, now is not the time to remove a former Pro Bowl pass catcher from the equation.

Big picture. Normal circumstances. The trade makes a lot of sense.

This year? With a 38-year-old quarterback and a young receiving group and a deep draft at that position which may produce a 2020 contributor in a later round anyway?

No. It doesn’t. Smith-Schuster should stay based on this proposal.

But it was worth a longer look than some suggested.

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