Mark Madden: Patrick Surtain would look great in Steelers secondary but wouldn't solve biggest problem

Media stooges try to make the NFL trade deadline seem like the MLB trade deadline for the purpose of engagement.

But it’s not nearly the same. The number of meaningful deals is minimal.

In baseball, individual results are cobbled together to produce a team score. Players move easily from team to team. There’s no style to adapt to, no playbook to absorb. Hitting or pitching for Team A is identical to hitting or pitching for Team B.

In football, the method and terminology vary. What each player does interlocks. That has to be learned, then practiced together.

After rookie camp, OTAs, minicamp, training camp, three preseason games and six regular-season games, the Pittsburgh Steelers still don’t much trust their rookies.

So why would the Steelers make a big deal before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline?

But I’m not 100% ruling it out, especially if the Steelers beat Jacksonville on Sunday to run their record to 5-2. The Steelers often think they’re better than they are. They might see themselves as one player away.

But probably not. How could they? Look at the stats: outgained in every game and by 660 yards total, outscored by 24 points. They’re incredibly lucky to be 4-2.

The preferred target of the rumors is Denver cornerback Patrick Surtain II, who is reportedly on the market. Surtain, 23, was the ninth pick overall in 2021. He made the All-Rookie Team in 2021 and first-team All-Pro last season.

The Broncos are looking to stockpile draft capital. Surtain would bring first- and second-round choices in return, maybe even two first-round picks.

When cornerback Jalen Ramsey, then 24, went from Jacksonville to the Los Angeles Rams in 2019, he fetched two first-rounders and a fourth-round selection.

The Steelers traditionally don’t do well drafting corners. (See Burns, Artie.) Trading for Surtain would circumvent that.

Corners and edge rushers are the most important positions in football besides quarterbacks. The Steelers have edge rushers and think they have their quarterback.

But what’s most important in football is scoring more and faster. The Steelers don’t score much, period. Surtain wouldn’t help in that regard.

The Steelers need the picks they would surrender for Surtain to get offensive linemen, a position they ignored in the first two rounds of the draft from 2012 when they drafted David DeCastro till this year when they took Broderick Jones. That’s why their offensive line is a mess. They need to get better at center and tackle.

Minkah Fitzpatrick might be the best safety in football. But trading a first-round pick to Miami for Fitzpatrick in 2019 has gotten the Steelers zero playoff wins.

The Steelers would have been better off tanking the 2019 season after losing Ben Roethlisberger to an elbow injury in the second game and maybe losing enough games to draft quarterback Justin Herbert.

But the Steelers don’t tank. Too much pride, not smart enough. So they scratched, clawed and quacked their way to 8-8 with Duck Hodges and Mason Rudolph at QB.

It’s not a defensive era. Reimagining the Steel Curtain has limited potential.

But the Steelers think how they think. Still, a huge trade at the deadline like acquiring Surtain seems the longest of long shots. But having acquired Fitzpatrick in 2019 leaves the window open just a crack.

Surtain and Fitzpatrick in the same defensive backfield would be terrific.

But would Surtain make the Steelers a Super Bowl team, or even AFC North champion, or even a definite playoff team?

No, no and maybe not. To become those things, the Steelers must score more and faster. Surtain doesn’t help with that.