When the Steelers moved on from George Pickens, they gave up who they believed was the NFL’s most talented receiver. Six weeks in, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky says there’s no question who won the deal — and it ain’t the Steelers.
“Cowboys absolutely won the trade,” Orlovsky said via ESPN’s First Take. “But I don’t think that means that Pittsburgh regrets moving on from him. DK Metcalf has to be the focal point of the pass game. And it’s hard to have a pass game have the focal point of DK and then the secondary guy be Pickens because this offense doesn’t—it’s different from Dallas. It doesn’t need to score 40…Dallas has gotta score 40, so there’s enough for CeeDee [Lamb] and George Pickens to go eat.”
Lamb has been out for a few games in Dallas, and Pickens has taken off as one of the top receivers in the league in his absence. His 32 receptions for 525 yards and six touchdowns is already well beyond any pace he was ever on in Pittsburgh in three seasons. He’s already broken his career high in touchdowns. DK Metcalf has a respectable 19 receptions for 356 yards and four touchdowns in one less game, but he’s still being easily outpaced by Pickens.
As Orlovsky noted, the Cowboys have one of the worst defenses in the NFL and have to push the ball down the field consistently to keep up. Pickens is perfect for that as the king of 50-50 balls. He also wasn’t producing nearly as much when Lamb was healthy. The first three games combined for just 166 yards and two touchdowns. With Lamb expected to return, will Pickens’ pace come back down to earth?
Regardless, the Cowboys got a great talent for a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 late-round pick swap. It’s more than nothing for a one-year rental, but it’s also fair to argue it wasn’t enough of a return for the Steelers. His time in Pittsburgh needed to come to an end with some of the off-field maturity issues piling up. A change of scenery was in both sides’ best interest.
The Steelers made up their mind about moving on from him, and then got the highest return they could muster. It’s hard to fault them for that.
Would the Steelers be Super Bowl favorites with Pickens on the roster? He would make them a better team, but their offense isn’t exactly designed to feature multiple receivers on a weekly basis. That being said, Orlovsky still thinks Pittsburgh should be looking for a splashy WR trade ahead of the deadline.
Unless Pickens ends up becoming a locker room issue in Dallas, it’s fair to say they won the trade. Especially when they recoup a third-round pick in compensatory value for losing him in March.
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