Earlier this week, the Pittsburgh Steelers sent wide receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a third-round draft pick and a swap of Day 3 picks. The deal came after a three-year run where Pickens was at times productive but also at times frustrating for the Steelers. General manager Omar Khan felt it was simply time for the two sides to part.
"We had three years with George. We had some exciting times," Khan said, via The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "The fresh start for both sides was the best thing."
The deal coming to fruition after the 2025 NFL Draft was somewhat surprising because typically teams like to trade players before the draft so that they can use assets to replace them, if needed, before the upcoming season. But Khan said that's just a function of the type of offers the Steelers were getting for Pickens, and when they came in.
"We had some people inquire during the draft. Nothing made sense," he said. "The Cowboys reached out and proposed something for us to think about."
The deal seemingly leaves the Steelers just as thin in the receiver room as they were last year, when Pickens was pretty much the only reliable or dangerous weapon. But Khan doesn't see it that way.
"We wouldn't have done this is if we didn't feel good about receiver situation," he said, via TribLive.
Khan specifically mentioned that he feels good about having DK Metcalf (who was acquired via trade earlier this offseason in a move that seemingly heralded Pickens' departure), Calvin Austin III and Roman Wilson, via the team's official website.
Metcalf, at least, is a good player, and a known quantity. He's been highly productive throughout his career with the Seahawks and has often been subject to the defensive attention defenses pay a No. 1 wideout. But he's also always had Tyler Lockett alongside him, and in recent years he's had Jaxon Smith-Njigba there as well. Now, he will be such a clear-cut No. 1 that opposing defenses will likely pay him even more attention than usual.
The Steelers might have confidence in Austin and Wilson, but Austin has just 53 catches for 728 yards and 5 touchdowns in two seasons, while Wilson only played five snaps during an injury-plagued rookie year. They're betting significantly on internal development here.
And of course, the Steelers don't even know who will be throwing those players the ball. There are a lot of unknowns in the Pittsburgh passing game, and that was probably going to be true whether they held onto Pickens or not.
