It's safe to admit it at this point: the Pittsburgh Steelers messed up by trading George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. While something had to be done, Omar Khan and the front office received just a third- and fifth-round pick in exchange for a playmaker who is already proving to be one of the best wide receivers in the league.
At 24 years old, Pickens has had a phenomenal season with the Cowboys in 2025 and is one of the NFL's leading receivers. Now it looks like Dallas will attempt to lock up their newest weapon on an extension that could keep Pickens around for the foreseeable future—creating a lethal WR duo with CeeDee Lamb.
At this point, Steelers fans don't want to hear about Pickens. We knew it was never a question about talent; only about personality fit... and Mike Tomlin—who is known for being a 'players' coach who can handle personalities—wasn't able to make it work.
There's almost no chance that whoever the Steelers select with the draft capital in the Pickens trade turns out to be as talented and game-changing as Pickens. However, there's one 2026 offseason move this team could pull off that would make fans forget about the George Pickens trade blunder.
The Pittsburgh Steelers could trade for Jacksonville Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr. during the 2026 offseason
Following the 2024 season, Steelers fans had major regrets with Pittsburgh's top draft choice. Troy Fautanu, their first-round pick out of Washington, landed on season-ending IR with a knee injury after just one game. Meanwhile, Brian Thomas Jr. was busy taking the NFL by storm with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Thomas, a big, athletic receiver out of LSU, collected 87 receptions for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns as a rookie. Unfortunately, Thomas already seems to have fallen out of favor with the Jaguars.
Jacksonville has a first-year head coach in Liam Cohen and the NFL's youngest GM in James Gladstone, who had his first year running the front office in 2025. From there, the Jags traded up in the first round for wide receiver Travis Hunter and, eventually, traded for WR Jakobi Meyers before the NFL trade deadline. Meyers had an expiring contract, but Jacksonville inked him to a new three-year, $60 million deal to retain him.
Now Thomas already looks like the odd man out, and he could be on the trade block early in the 2026 offseason. The Pittsburgh Steelers should strike a deal.
After a phenomenal rookie season, Thomas' production took a significant step back in year two. However, we've seen that the talent is all there. Thomas, who turned 23 in October, is younger than George Pickens with two years remaining on his rookie contract. And because he was a first-round pick, the Steelers would also get a fifth-year option—giving them three years of control.
If he proves to be a great match with the organization, the Steelers could give him a contract extension—essentially filling the role we all hoped George Pickens would have for the foreseeable future. Even if he doesn't look like the rookie we saw in Jacksonville in 2024, Pittsburgh would at least have him under contract as a starting-caliber option for a minimum of two seasons.
Following his outstanding 2024 rookie season, trading for Thomas would have been nearly impossible. Thomas plays one of the most important positions in football, and his play style and production have drawn comparisons to former NFL superstar Julio Jones. But one year later, acquiring Thomas is a real possibility.
While the Jaguars still might ask for a first-round pick, it's likely the talented wideout could be traded for a 2026 second-round pick (and possibly a future Day 3 pick). For a team looking to undo the George Pickens blunder, Brian Thomas Jr. would be the perfect trade option for the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 2026 offseason.