My morning began with reporting on the Steelers trading Pickens to the Cowboys -- receiving a third-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and a fifth-round pick in 2026, while sending to Dallas a sixth-rounder in 2027 -- and it'll move forward with a barrage of bullet-framed thoughts:
• This can't be overstated, and it's nothing I haven't been reporting for a couple years now: Pickens was a problem. And a half. He was a problem on the field, failing to give full effort on probably half of all offensive snaps, and he was a problem off the field in that his coaches and teammates would then be forced to attempt to police him. Which, as they'd eagerly attest, was a waste of everyone's time and energy, since it'd seldom do any good.
• Epic talent. Obviously. Hands of gold. Some of the best body-control I've seen this side of Lynn Swann. But there's no one in that building who wouldn't forfeit some of that in exchange for that full effort. Not. One. Individual.
• When the head coach has to assign one of his assistants -- or another player at times -- to babysit someone nonstop on the sideline, to keep him from acting up, to keep him from fussing with fans ... sorry, but that's just clown-shoes territory. That can't even be compared to Antonio Brown, who, for all his gradually accumulating personal issues, never allowed himself to be out-focused or out-worked in any football setting.
• Omar Khan wasn't the only one within the Steelers who'd insisted Pickens wasn't being shopped for a trade. But neither he nor anyone else was lying. Other teams were aware of the situation here -- DK Metcalf being acquired, Pickens entering a contract year -- and they approached, so Khan listened. From there, he set a price of a third-rounder that no one met ... until the Cowboys did. Nothing disingenuous about it. That's life as a sports executive: No deal one day, mega-deal the next.
• One thing I never heard from anyone was that the Steelers intended to sign Pickens to a second contract. And it's not as if he wouldn't have deduced that himself. As such, there was a very real possibility of a hold-in at training camp, or beyond if it'd morph into an outright holdout. Nobody'd be giving up a third-rounder in that context.
• Think of this as Metcalf for Pickens, and it all goes down a lot more easily. Metcalf's the better player, he's the more professional player/person, and he's locked up for five years. That's a win-win-win, and I can't even conceive of a counter-argument to that.
• Now, before I take this too far from one side of a legitimately multilayered discussion, let's put this into a blazing bold font: Khan's not done with this. He can't be. He now needs a WR2 and, as was the case a year ago, he doesn't have one. I love Calvin Austin, but Arthur Smith rightly sees Austin as his WR3, and Austin's too small to simply slide up the depth chart. The same should also be said for Roman Wilson, who was projected as far back as his college time in Michigan to be a slot type in the NFL. The answer isn't in the fold, including after adding 33-year-old Robert Woods a few days ago.
• Repeating for emphasis: WR2's a must. We've already seen way too much of what this offense looks like with a single long-range threat, and it's almost as ugly as all the eight-man boxes that make it that way. Sign someone, trade for someone, but that hole can't sit there again. It'll nullify all the good of acquiring Metcalf.
• Will this influence Aaron Rodgers? Better question: Who cares?
• Not to be dismissed is the impact on the future drafts, in particular the 2026 draft that, coincidentally, will occur in this very Golden Triangle. The Steelers could enter that one armed with as many as a dozen picks, depending on how all the pending comps play out, and that's ... yeah, that's insane. It's also not a number that anyone ever utilizes. Rather, it's an overflow that's easily converted into trade assets. Including to move up. Way up. At which stage all those hints Khan's always throwing out about a plan toward building up the franchise's future all appear pointed at a quarterback.
• Lacking the patience for a trade like this to help pay off in a quarterback? Well, then don't criticize management for having been awful at finding one for a half-decade now.
• Not that I'd ever care what happens to the Cowboys, but nothing's going to change for Pickens there. If anything, all the existing weirdness there, the Jerry Jones-fueled drama and so forth, will only enable his behavior further. I mean, in Pittsburgh, Pickens had at least always been the No. 1 guy. That's CeeDee Lamb down there, and it'll remain Lamb long after Pickens is gone. No reason for Dak Prescott to placate one when the other's just fine.
• There went Diontae Johnson. And then there went Najee Harris. And now this. Not a questionable character left on this offense. I'll guess that's not an accident.
• This trade isn't it. This transformation of the wide receiver room isn't done. Patience.
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THE ASYLUM
Dejan Kovacevic
2:35 pm - 05.07.2025DowntownDK: The trade's fine, but another WR2's an absolute must
George Pickens gone?
Hardly some spectacular surprise.
Gone for, basically, a mid-round pick?
Eh. Not ideal.
But gone and to go un-replaced on the roster?
Now that'd be indefensible to the extreme.
My morning began with reporting on the Steelers trading Pickens to the Cowboys -- receiving a third-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and a fifth-round pick in 2026, while sending to Dallas a sixth-rounder in 2027 -- and it'll move forward with a barrage of bullet-framed thoughts:
• This can't be overstated, and it's nothing I haven't been reporting for a couple years now: Pickens was a problem. And a half. He was a problem on the field, failing to give full effort on probably half of all offensive snaps, and he was a problem off the field in that his coaches and teammates would then be forced to attempt to police him. Which, as they'd eagerly attest, was a waste of everyone's time and energy, since it'd seldom do any good.
• Epic talent. Obviously. Hands of gold. Some of the best body-control I've seen this side of Lynn Swann. But there's no one in that building who wouldn't forfeit some of that in exchange for that full effort. Not. One. Individual.
• When the head coach has to assign one of his assistants -- or another player at times -- to babysit someone nonstop on the sideline, to keep him from acting up, to keep him from fussing with fans ... sorry, but that's just clown-shoes territory. That can't even be compared to Antonio Brown, who, for all his gradually accumulating personal issues, never allowed himself to be out-focused or out-worked in any football setting.
• Omar Khan wasn't the only one within the Steelers who'd insisted Pickens wasn't being shopped for a trade. But neither he nor anyone else was lying. Other teams were aware of the situation here -- DK Metcalf being acquired, Pickens entering a contract year -- and they approached, so Khan listened. From there, he set a price of a third-rounder that no one met ... until the Cowboys did. Nothing disingenuous about it. That's life as a sports executive: No deal one day, mega-deal the next.
• One thing I never heard from anyone was that the Steelers intended to sign Pickens to a second contract. And it's not as if he wouldn't have deduced that himself. As such, there was a very real possibility of a hold-in at training camp, or beyond if it'd morph into an outright holdout. Nobody'd be giving up a third-rounder in that context.
• Think of this as Metcalf for Pickens, and it all goes down a lot more easily. Metcalf's the better player, he's the more professional player/person, and he's locked up for five years. That's a win-win-win, and I can't even conceive of a counter-argument to that.
• Now, before I take this too far from one side of a legitimately multilayered discussion, let's put this into a blazing bold font: Khan's not done with this. He can't be. He now needs a WR2 and, as was the case a year ago, he doesn't have one. I love Calvin Austin, but Arthur Smith rightly sees Austin as his WR3, and Austin's too small to simply slide up the depth chart. The same should also be said for Roman Wilson, who was projected as far back as his college time in Michigan to be a slot type in the NFL. The answer isn't in the fold, including after adding 33-year-old Robert Woods a few days ago.
• Repeating for emphasis: WR2's a must. We've already seen way too much of what this offense looks like with a single long-range threat, and it's almost as ugly as all the eight-man boxes that make it that way. Sign someone, trade for someone, but that hole can't sit there again. It'll nullify all the good of acquiring Metcalf.
• Will this influence Aaron Rodgers? Better question: Who cares?
• Not to be dismissed is the impact on the future drafts, in particular the 2026 draft that, coincidentally, will occur in this very Golden Triangle. The Steelers could enter that one armed with as many as a dozen picks, depending on how all the pending comps play out, and that's ... yeah, that's insane. It's also not a number that anyone ever utilizes. Rather, it's an overflow that's easily converted into trade assets. Including to move up. Way up. At which stage all those hints Khan's always throwing out about a plan toward building up the franchise's future all appear pointed at a quarterback.
• Lacking the patience for a trade like this to help pay off in a quarterback? Well, then don't criticize management for having been awful at finding one for a half-decade now.
• Not that I'd ever care what happens to the Cowboys, but nothing's going to change for Pickens there. If anything, all the existing weirdness there, the Jerry Jones-fueled drama and so forth, will only enable his behavior further. I mean, in Pittsburgh, Pickens had at least always been the No. 1 guy. That's CeeDee Lamb down there, and it'll remain Lamb long after Pickens is gone. No reason for Dak Prescott to placate one when the other's just fine.
• There went Diontae Johnson. And then there went Najee Harris. And now this. Not a questionable character left on this offense. I'll guess that's not an accident.
• This trade isn't it. This transformation of the wide receiver room isn't done. Patience.
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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