The Pittsburgh Steelers surprised a lot of people on Wednesday morning when they traded George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. Trading the talented but temperamental wide receiver wasn’t surprising in itself, but the timing of it was strange.
Nevertheless, Pickens is in Dallas now, and the Steelers have rid themselves of a player who’s been more than just a distraction over the years. However, sometimes all a player needs is a change of scenery. ESPN’s Damien Woody thinks that might be what Pickens needs to be successful in Dallas given its stability under center.
“George Pickens is going from just a bevy of quarterbacks, to now Dak Prescott,” Woody said Thursday on Unsportsmanlike. “You don’t think he’s happy about that? After the subpar quarterback play that he’s experienced with the Pittsburgh Steelers in his short career. To now going to Dallas with one of the top quarterbacks in our league. The questions are legitimate, but I think we’re gonna get the best of George Pickens in this situation.”
It’s not wrong to suggest Pickens will have more talent at the quarterback position in Dallas than he did in Pittsburgh. During his time with the Steelers, some combination of Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett, Russell Wilson or Justin Fields was usually throwing him the ball.
Now, Pickens heads to one of the more secure quarterback situations in the league. Prescott has been the man in Dallas ever since his rookie year when he took over for Tony Romo. He’s had some injury concerns in recent years, notably the 2024 season when Cooper Rush had to start a significant number of games. When he’s been healthy, though, the Cowboys are good much more often than they’re bad.
With all of that said, are we sure Pickens will be that much better behaved?
Russell Wilson was far from a beacon of success, considering the totality of his 2024 season. After he initially took over the starting job, though, the Steelers won six of their first seven games.
Specifically, Pittsburgh won the first four games Wilson started with Pickens seeing 33 targets and catching 22 of them. He had a combined 365 yards and two touchdowns. Over a four-game stretch, especially your first four with a new quarterback, those are impressive numbers. Most receivers would feel pretty happy with their QB based off those statistics.
However, the Steelers lost the fifth game Wilson started. That was the snowy, wild loss in Cleveland, in which Pickens got into a wrestling match followed be a heated argument, all taking place on the last play of the game.
This is just one incident. But it’s an example of Pickens not being able to control his emotion, even in the midst of a stretch of excellent QB play. Combine that with all of the other distractions he caused in Pittsburgh, and he doesn’t quite get the benefit of the doubt.
Of course, Pickens is one of the most talented receivers in the NFL. Dallas is also getting a massive upgrade to its receiving room. However, former Steelers receivers usually don’t do as well after the Steelers move on from them. Time will tell if Pickens can break that trend. If not, Jerry Jones may have a lot on his plate.
