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Seth Walder
The Dallas Cowboys made a big splash on Wednesday morning, agreeing to a trade for wide receiver George Pickens. They will send a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Pickens and a 2027 sixth-round pick.
The Cowboys had been searching for a legit WR2 alongside CeeDee Lamb, and Pickens should elevate their offense. But is Pickens definitely the answer for Dallas? And did Pittsburgh get enough back in return?
Let’s grade both sides. Who actually won the deal? I’m evaluating the trade based on multiple factors, including on-field impact, overall value for each side, salary cap implications, and the context of each team’s short- and long-term QB outlooks.
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So, on paper, this move makes plenty of sense for the Cowboys. As poorly as 2024 went for this team, the roster still has the same core as the one that went 12-5 in 2023 (albeit with a different coach) and had a major weakness at receiver after Lamb. To give up a shade more than a third-round pick for one year of Pickens is reasonable, considering how much less it will cost the Cowboys (under $3.4 million) than if he were on the open market.
But this move is not made only on paper. A big part of the reason Pickens is available is it seems the Steelers had had enough of him. After Pickens had two unsportsmanlike penalties against the Bengals last season, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said, “He’s got a target on his back because he’s George; he understands that. But he’s got to grow up. He’s got to grow up in a hurry.” Then, after the season, Tomlin said, “There’s certainly obviously more room for growth there.” Earlier in the season, there were questions over Pickens’ effort, too, though Tomlin dismissed those concerns at the time.
The risk here is mitigated by the one-year commitment, and if I were the Cowboys, I would want to keep it that way. They should let him play out the season and probably let him walk next offseason in exchange for the possibility of a compensatory pick. If Dallas signs Pickens to an extension before the 2025 season, I would substantially reduce its grade here.
For the Steelers, this is good compensation. The league widely knew they wanted to move on from Pickens, and they still got a Day 2 pick back.
Pittsburgh already acquired Pickens’ replacement in DK Metcalf earlier this offseason. While the two wideouts could have played together, there’s an obvious overlap in their styles, and it certainly appears that the Metcalf acquisition was in anticipation of losing Pickens. However, the Steelers once again have a receiver problem. Behind Metcalf on the depth chart are Calvin Austin III, Robert Woods and Roman Wilson.
The last piece of the puzzle is how this relates to Aaron Rodgers. Without a second receiver next to Metcalf, Pittsburgh is that much further from being an immediate contender. That makes bringing in Rodgers a little harder to justify — even if the Steelers’ options at QB are extremely limited with the draft in the rearview mirror. Perhaps Kirk Cousins could be another route?