Mark Madden: Brandon Aiyuk fills a desperate need for Steelers. Go get him.

After months of speculation, San Francisco has put want-away wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk on the market. The Steelers are among the teams kicking the tires.

If the Steelers don’t get Aiyuk, it’s a failure by management.

If Cleveland gets Aiyuk, the Steelers will finish last in the AFC North. (The Browns and New England are both reportedly hot on Aiyuk’s trail.)

Sure, the Steelers will have to give the 49ers too much to get Aiyuk, and have to pay Aiyuk too much to keep him.

But teams often overspend to get a player they need. The Steelers need Aiyuk.

Their wideouts are inadequate, which will render their passing game inadequate. That’s even if Russell Wilson does well at quarterback.

The Steelers can tough out yardage on the ground. Oppenheimer will maximize the tight ends, even if they’re not that good.

But the Steelers will be in trouble whenever they trail by two scores (or more) in the second quarter (or later). The opposition’s pass coverage will collapse on receiver George Pickens. The Steelers won’t be able to score points fast. Aside from taking too much time when you’re behind, long drives provide more opportunity for mistakes.

Aiyuk changes all that. He’s a legit top receiver. He’d free up Pickens.

The Steelers should absolutely get Aiyuk. Give up a first-round pick plus whatever. Aiyuk is 26. In his prime.

Let Pickens go when his contract expires after the 2025 season. He’s a head case anyway. Pickens will get mad when Aiyuk usurps targets. When Pickens doesn’t get paid, he’ll get more mad.

No big deal. Aiyuk is more reliable. Get Aiyuk, ditch Pickens when the time comes, draft another receiver in the interim.

Is Aiyuk worth $30 million per season?

He probably isn’t. But he’s very good. Do you want to win or not?

T.J. Watt’s cap hit is $30.4 million, He’s never won a playoff game.

Minkah Fitzpatrick’s cap hit is $21.3 million. He’s never won a playoff game.

It’s about how much you impact winning. Aiyuk would impact winning. The Steelers might even win a playoff game.

Or not. Aiyuk would offer no guarantees. Not even a playoff spot. But it’s worth the risk.

Do the Steelers and Mike Tomlin put too much emphasis on Tomlin never having a losing season?

I used to think not. Now, I’m not so sure.

In 2019, Ben Roethlisberger popped his elbow during the season’s second game. The Steelers were 0-2. They should have tanked. Maybe they would have finished low enough to draft a new franchise quarterback. Perhaps Justin Herbert.

Instead, they traded their first-round pick for 2020 to Miami for Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick is a great safety. He helped that year’s Steelers scratch and claw to 8-8, preserving Tomlin’s streak.

But the Steelers missed the playoffs. Had they made the postseason, it would have been a quick exit. No hope with Duck Hodges at quarterback.

Was it more important to finish 8-8 then or to win 11 or 12 games now?

I see the Steelers as a nine- or 10-win team. Adding Aiyuk changes the offense. It ups the ante. Makes the Steelers more comeback-friendly. Maybe gets a couple more victories.

Getting Aiyuk would retroactively eliminate the stupidity of trading Diontae Johnson to Carolina without a Plan B at wideout.

Van Jefferson is getting extra work via the JUGS football throwing machine. Three hundred balls per day, we’re told.

That should enable Jefferson to be an effective No. 2 receiver behind Pickens. If the JUGS football throwing machine ever plays quarterback.

If the Steelers don’t get Aiyuk, that would stink.

If Cleveland gets Aiyuk, it would be a disaster. Cleveland’s roster is very good. Aiyuk would be a considerable upgrade, even if Amari Cooper goes the other way in a trade with San Francisco.

Maybe the Steelers could make Justin Fields into a latter-day “Slash.” If Fields doesn’t win the fictional battle for the starting quarterback job.

Here’s hoping Fields plays a lot in Friday’s exhibition opener against Houston at Acrisure Stadium.

Here’s further hoping that Fields goes about 10 for 10, maybe throws a couple of touchdowns. Perhaps a decent-sized run and a rushing TD. No turnovers.

I want the citizens to rally behind the second-string quarterback from the get-go. It will make the commotion all the bigger when Wilson throws his first incompletion Week 1 at Atlanta. God forbid Wilson gets picked.

I believe Wilson will be the Steelers’ saving grace.

But an instant quarterback controversy would be what’s best for business.