In May of 2025 the Pittsburgh Steelers traded wide receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. In the trade, the Steelers received a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick. After only ten games played in a Dallas Cowboys uniform, Pickens has suddenly broken out as a top wide receiver in the NFL.
At just 24 years old, Pickens ranks second in the NFL in receiving yards (908) this season and is tied for third in touchdowns at the wide receiver position, already finding the end zone seven times.
This past week, Pickens put up yet another strong performance, racking up 144 receiving yards and a touchdown in the Cowboys 33-16 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night Football.
Looking back at the trade that sent Pickens to Dallas, it seems pretty reasonable to assume that the Steelers would reconsider the deal if they could go back in time.
GettyGeorge Pickens already has 908 receiving yards this season.
Kay Adams’s Bold Take on the Steelers Trading Pickens
“I think that trading George Pickens is probably going to go down as one of the worst deals in NFL history, and I mean that,” said Kay Adams of FanDuel TV on the Up & Adams show on Tuesday, November 18th.
Continuing her thoughts on the trade, Adams said, “And I’m sorry to the Steelers. I just think it’s true. And the best from the Dallas perspective. Like, what a haul. It is so clear. It is so glaringly obvious watching George Pickens last night.”
The Steelers still sit in solid positioning heading into Week 12 of the NFL season with a record of 6-4, but that is no thanks to production from the wide receiver room recently. Just last week, the Steelers’ leader in receiving yards against the Cincinnati Bengals was running back Kenneth Gainwell. A week before that, wide receiver Roman Wilson led the Steelers with 35 receiving yards against the Los Angeles Chargers.
With the low production from receivers in the past few games, it is fair to think that if the Steelers still had Pickens on the team that they would potentially have an even better record than 6-4 at this point of the season.
Adams said, “The Steelers with George Pickens, Week 12, 2025, are up there with the Patriots as a contender. Without him they’re not.”
GettyGeorge Pickens celebrates scoring a touchdown for the Dallas Cowboys.
Steelers Star WR Posts Lower Stats Recently
Many will argue that the Steelers should have kept George Pickens even after they acquired star wide receiver DK Metcalf. Both players on the same team would have looked like a nightmare for opposing secondaries on paper. The Steelers obviously decided to not keep Pickens on the team, hoping that Metcalf would have strong production on the field.
Even though Metcalf has put up respectable numbers this season with 551 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns, the production from the Steelers best wide receiver has been lower than probably anticipated recently.
The 27-year-old wide receiver has broken 100 receiving yards only once in 10 games played this season. In his last five games, Metcalf’s most receiving yards in a game came in at 55 during the Steelers’ loss to the Green Bay Packers in late October.
With Pickens having a career year in Dallas, the Steelers need to get more production from their best receiver, Metcalf, to make up for trading him.
GettyDK Metcalf is the Steelers most productive wide receiver this season.
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