Though often the most critical of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ decisions, Colin Cowherd is placing a stamp of approval on the choice to send George Pickens to Dallas. Sharing his thoughts on the deal, Cowherd believes it’s the right move for Pittsburgh.
“I didn’t like DK Metcalf and George Pickens, both high-maintenance receivers, on the same team,” he said Wednesday on FS1’s The Herd. “I didn’t like that at all. So I’m glad they moved off him. They got a decent pick.”
Pittsburgh received a 2026 third-round selection from Dallas along with a 2027 Day 3 pick swap. How high that third rounder becomes will depend on how well the Cowboys play this season but a selection somewhere in the middle of the round is a safe assumption. It adds to the Steelers’ already impressive stockpile of 2026 selections, assuming the compensatory picks they’re expected to receive come through.
Cowherd notoriously rails against Pittsburgh for focusing too much on defense and trading Pickens does nothing to help the offense. But the Steelers’ belief seems to be Pickens is too much of a headache to deal with for another season and the Cowboys’ increased offer was enough to get a deal done.
“Mike Tomlin, who’s always been a player’s coach, he bailed on him,” Cowherd said. “He couldn’t control him.”
Pickens is the latest “difficult” receiver the Steelers have traded. He joins a long list of Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant, Chase Claypool, and Diontae Johnson, all of whom had varying degrees of off-field issues that led to their exit. How he’ll function under the bright Dallas media lights remains to be seen but Pickens is no longer Pittsburgh’s problem.
How Pittsburgh replaces the former second-round pick will prove key. Last year, the team struggled to fill Diontae Johnson’s shoes after he was traded for similar malcontent-related reasons. This year, the Steelers are trading Pickens even later in the offseason than Johnson, making it harder to fill his role. The team could add an outside name like Gabe Davis or count on internal options like Roman Wilson to absorb those reps.
Ultimately, that could be how the trade is remembered. Either by Pittsburgh making a shrewd move to deal Pickens without significant drop-off or a repeat of 2024, desperately searching for answers in the following months.
