The news came fast and furious Wednesday morning, with the Pittsburgh Steelers shipping wide receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys for a third-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and a late-round pick swap in the 2027 NFL Draft.
Just when it seemed like Pickens was safe to remain with the Steelers to at least start the 2025 season after being held onto through the draft, things changed in the blink of an eye as GM Omar Khan and head coach Mike Tomlin moved on from the receiver who has been a bit of a headache at times in his three seasons in Pittsburgh.
But the move does open up a hole in an offense that had intended to be much better this season than it was in 2024. Without Pickens opposite star receiver DK Metcalf, that will be difficult.
Former Steelers offensive lineman Max Starks, who is currently a sideline reporter for the Steelers Radio Network, had a mix of emotions following the reports of the Pickens trade to the Steelers. But in the end, he understands it from the Steelers’ perspective, especially with the team stockpiling picks for the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, where the Steelers appear poised to swing big for a quarterback.
“Head scratch was the first initial knee-jerk thought. And then I put on my Steelers cap, which is a very comfy, snug cap, and I then felt relief. I had a mix of emotions,” Starks said of his reaction to the trade, according to audio via Sirius XM. “But just because you go through the draft process, right? And you don’t take a receiver in that, if you knew this was impending, and then you get through that whole process, don’t find a trade partner actively during the draft. And then it just seems like, man, we’re just like stockpiling picks for next year, but next year is never promised about what’s gonna be available to you because we live in the era of NIL transfer portal, you know, mysterious fifth and sixth year eligibilities that come up.
“And so I’m just like, I was a little pensive, a little nervous about the idea of going into the season once again with only one frontline receiver.”
It’s understandable that Starks may feel that way. That’s probably how a lot of Steelers fans were feeling in the moments after seeing the news of the Pickens trade, considering the timing coming after the draft, and the Steelers having no real No. 2 option behind Metcalf on the roster, outside of veteran Robert Woods, who was signed last week in a surprise move.
The decision to move Pickens now, after the draft, is a bit puzzling. But based on a report from The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, the Cowboys were only offering the Steelers a fourth-round pick for Pickens during the draft, which the Steelers rightly passed on.
Coming out of the draft, with the Cowboys not selecting a receiver, Dallas’ need became all the more greater, resulting in them offering the third-rounder to complete the deal. That helps the Steelers really load up for the 2026 NFL Draft.
But that also leaves them thin at receiver. The Steelers are willing to take that risk, though, in 2025, avoiding the headaches that Pickens could provide in a contract year while also being the clear-cut No. 2 behind DK Metcalf on the roster.
“I think it just, it became more of a liability than an asset,” Starks said regarding Pickens and why the trade happened now. “You always look at, you know, does the production on the field match the headache off the field? And I think it finally got to a point where the headache outlived the production.”
That is seemingly where it got with the Steelers and Pickens, and it finally led to something drastic: the trade of Pickens to the Cowboys, allowing the Steelers to get something in return for a receiver they were almost certainly going to let walk in free agency after the season.
It allows them to avoid any potential blowups and negative headlines, while giving them the chance to keep things on track offensively in a year in which many new parts will be worked into the fold on that side of the football.
