Why Trading George Pickens Was The Right Move For The Steelers

In a move I've been predicting would come if the right compensation was offered, the Steelers have traded George Pickens to the Cowboys for a 2026 third round pick.

As soon as the Steelers traded for D.K. Metcalf, it was over for George Pickens. The only question was whether his time in Pittsburgh would come to an end before, during or after the 2025 NFL season. Would Pittsburgh net any compensation for their former second round pick, or would he simply depart after the season to greener pastures?

On Wednesday, we got our answer. Per multiple reports, the Steelers traded Pickens and a 2027 sixth round pick to the Cowboys for a 2026 third round pick and a 2027 fifth rounder. Let’s look at it piece-by-piece:

Value

Before the 2025 NFL Draft, the Steelers were exploring options to trade Pickens for a day 2 pick. Unfortunately, no team was willing to offer a day two pick. Derrick Bell and I discussed this on the most recent Yinz Know Ball podcast episode, saying the best offer was day 3 compensation. The Athletic’s Dianna Russini confirmed as much this morning, saying the Cowboys offered a fourth-round pick for Pickens before the draft, and the Steelers turned them away.

Since a day two pick wasn’t on the table, the Steelers opted to keep Pickens rather than settle for lesser compensation. After the draft, the Cowboys doubled their efforts to land Pickens after surveying the dearth of options at WR. Once Dallas elevated their offer, the Steelers pulled the trigger.

Pittsburgh was never getting a better offer than this. Not only were the Cowboys the only team offering a day two pick for an enigmatic wide receiver with just one year left on his contract, but Pickens value was likely to decrease over the first few months of the season, not increase. With Metcalf slated to be the volume target receiver in an offense that has typically heavily featured one pass catcher, combined with the Steelers question marks at quarterback, this situation was likely to get worse than better.