I was surprised when I checked my phone this morning and saw that the Pittsburgh Steelers were trading WR George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. Maybe the main reason for my shock was that I woke up at 7:25 a.m. (I’m not a morning person at all) but this is a move I wasn’t expecting.
When the Pittsburgh Steelers traded for WR D.K. Metcalf a few weeks ago, most thought it was to form a good (although prone to on-field scuffles) duo to help whoever would play QB for them, or maybe entice Aaron Rodgers to sign.
The fact that they didn’t draft a wide receiver two weeks ago also solidified that they would roll into the season with D.K. Metcalf, George Pickens, Roman Wilson, and Robert Woods as their primary wide receivers. They then traded Pickens and a 2026 6th-round pick to the Cowboys for a 2026 3rd and a 2027 5th-round pick.
Winners
Dak Prescott
CeeDee Lamb is arguably a Top 5 wide receiver in the NFL, and the TE duo of Jake Ferguson and Luke Schoonmaker is a very good one. However, their other options at receiver were Jalen Tolbert and Jonathan Mingo. In a division with the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders, who made the NFC Championship Game last season, you need more firepower to compete. Outside the division, you also have to beat teams like the Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams, and Minnesota Vikings to advance to the Super Bowl.
Dak Prescott is not only a winner of this trade, but one of the biggest winners of the offseason. New OG Tyler Booker should help this offensive line return to its glory days, and now, Pickens will give the QB another nice pass catcher to throw to.
Roman Wilson
A third-round pick in last year’s Draft, Wilson was a non-factor as a rookie, as he dealt with injuries. With the Steelers acquiring Metcalf and Robert Woods, it looked like he would be in a very limited role in 2025. Now he has the opportunity to compete with 33-year-old Robert Woods for the WR2 job alongside Metcalf.
George Pickens
Pickens may not be one of the best receivers in the league, but he can be a WR1. He won’t be in Dallas, as his teammate will be CeeDee Lamb. But Pickens can be to Lamb what Jordan Addison is to Justin Jefferson in Minnesota. There were no guarantees that Pickens would remain the WR1 in Pittsburgh after they traded for Metcalf, so just the fact that he went from Mason Rudolph to Dak Prescott as his quarterback automatically makes him a winner here.
As he enters the last year of his rookie deal, Pickens will not only need to produce like he did the last two years, but also stop getting in fights with every corner to avoid dumb penalties (two unsportsmanlike penalties against the Bengals in the same game). I have nothing against a player who fights for his teammates, but if he keeps fighting just to fight, on a team like the Cowboys, things could get messy when it’s time to negotiate a new deal.
Losers
Whoever The Steelers QB Is
We don’t know who will be the primary signal-caller for the Steelers in 2025. Right now, it looks like Mason Rudolph, with 6th-round rookie Will Howard having an outside shot at it. They are also waiting to hear about Aaron Rodgers.
The fact is that, whoever it is, they just lost a good player. I said earlier that Roman Wilson is one of the winners of the trade because he now has a better chance to play, but he still hasn’t done anything in the league. Robert Woods, the other receiver fighting for a bigger role, last reached 600+ yards in 2020. Calvin Austin had a nice 2024 season, but the Steelers’ option at WR2 right now looks bleak.
George Pickens’ Agent
George Pickens was looking to cash in as a WR1. He then became a WR1A/1B with Metcalf. Now he is a clear WR2. Two trades that probably cost Pickens quite a few million dollars. Negotiating a deal with Cowboys’ owner/GM Jerry Jones is also difficult, as he tends to drag this out. He will need Pickens to have the sort of production he had in 2023 to help push Jones to extend him quicker.
