Pittsburgh Steelers fans want affirmation that their team won the George Pickens trade with the Dallas Cowboys. Pickens was a headache to deal with over the past three years, and the Steelers received more draft capital in the trade with the Cowboys than most predicted they would get. But the latest ESPN prediction isn't what fans wanted to hear.
On Tuesday, ESPN senior NFL writer Bill Barnwell wrote about the biggest offseason trades and signings that could either break out or flop. When it came to Pickens, Barnwell projected the 24-year-old receiver to have a career season.
"Pickens is moving from one of the league's least pass-happy offenses to one of its most," Barnwell wrote. "The Cowboys threw at the third-highest rate in neutral game scripts on early downs before Dak Prescott went down with his season-ending hamstring injury in Week 9. The Steelers ranked 25th by the same metric over that span. Dallas also plays at a faster pace than Pittsburgh, something likely to continue with Brian Schottenheimer taking over as coach."
Barnwell also noted the significant upgrade Pickens will see at quarterback, going from an aged-out Russell Wilson to the uber-accurate Dak Prescott.
"Pickens is also going to get a massive upgrade at quarterback," Barnwell continued. "For whatever flak Prescott gets for his weaknesses, he throws one of the most consistently accurate balls of any quarterback. His ball placement on slants, digs and back-shoulder throws, in particular, has been excellent over the past few years. Pickens is going to see plenty of those routes."
But perhaps the biggest reason to expect a breakout campaign from Pickens is the fact that he will have CeeDee Lamb—one of the best and most accounted for wide receivers in the NFL—drawing the attention of the defense.
"With CeeDee Lamb operating out of the slot, the Cowboys have needed an "X" receiver since they moved on from Amari Cooper before the 2022 season," Barnwell continued. "Between Cooper and Dez Bryant, Prescott had that big, physical receiver on the outside for most of his career. Pickens should be that guy."
George Pickens could make the Pittsburgh Steelers regret trading him to the Dallas Cowboys
There were too many incidents with George Pickens over the past three seasons that would have made us believe that the damage could be repaired. Trading for DK Metcalf was the final nail in the coffin that all but confirmed there was no chance Pickens was getting a second contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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However, that doesn't mean he won't ball out with the Dallas Cowboys and make the Steelers regret their decision to send him packing. With his new setup on 'America's Team', Pickens has a better quarterback and a superstar receiver who can alleviate the pressure from opposing defenses. While Brian Schottenheimer is entering his first season as a head coach, the Cowboys have had a recent history of successful offenses with multiple play-callers.
We know what Pickens is capable of. Would it surprise anyone if he exploded for 1,200 receiving yards and double-digit touchdowns in 2025? He's more than capable of being the 'Tee Higgins' to CeeDee Lamb's 'Ja'Marr Chase' in Dallas (if Pickens can keep his head on straight).
At the end of the day, we have to remember that the options for the Pittsburgh Steelers essentially would have been to allow Pickens to play out the final year of his contract and hit free agency or trade him now and get draft capital for the future. As soon as Pickens self-implodes on the Cowboys, all of these regrets will go away.