Trading away George Pickens comes with obvious short-term pain. However, there's little doubt of a plan to load up for the future.

In receiving a third-round pick from the Cowboys, the Steelers are now in line to have as many as 12 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, which just so happens to be in Pittsburgh. They have their original seven picks, the Cowboys' third-round pick and, according to OverTheCap.com, the maximum of four compensatory picks.

The Steelers will now likely have at least three third-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft: Their own, the Cowboys' and a projected comp pick for losing Dan Moore Jr. in free agency. The Steelers are also projected to receive a fourth-round comp pick for losing Justing Fields, a fifth-round comp pick for losing Russell Wilson and a sixth-round comp pick for losing James Daniels. There is also a chance for Fields and Wilson to turn into third-round comp picks if they hit certain performance and salary benchmarks.

That's a lot of firepower. And, it's not by accident. The comp pick game has been part of the plan for a while.

"We were in a position where we understood where our contracts were with our free agents and the possibility does exist for us to acquire comp picks," Omar Khan said at the NFL annual meeting. "That's always been a part of the process this year. You guys are intelligent people. You guys can kind of read through it and see it, the fact that we've had the opportunity to acquire picks."

Now, the Pickens trade adds more validity to a long-term approach. It absolutely comes with pain for the 2025 season. After DK Metcalf, the receiver room now consists of Calvin Austin III, Robert Woods, Roman Wilson, Ben Skowronek and Scotty Miller. They're right back in the same situation as they were a season ago, although Metcalf is an upgrade over Pickens. If Metcalf were to go down with an injury, well, we've already seen what can happen.

There are still guys such as Amari Cooper available in free agency. And, the Jaguars released Gabe Davis this morning, as well. Trading for a receiver shouldn't be out of the question, either, given the draft capital the team now possesses. So, there are still time and options to replace Pickens for the upcoming season.

However, this organization needs a long-term answer at the game's most important position. Tanking isn't an option. What would that say to players such as T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward? Instead, they are adding a ton of assets to give themselves firepower to possibly get a quarterback in one of the next two drafts.

Yes, they'll still have to part with a future first-rounder if and when a trade up for a quarterback is done. However, having all of these extra picks gives them the flexibility to still have strong draft classes while they aim to snag their franchise quarterback.

The future isn't Aaron Rodgers, and it's likely not Mason Rudolph. The people on the inside are tired of quick, short-term fixes at the position.

"It's not ideal," Khan said at the NFL annual meeting. "We addressed (quarterback) last year. We're addressing it this year. At some point, we have to find the long-term solution."

Trading Pickens, while also avoiding a potentially dramatic, toxic hold in during training camp, adds another bullet in the chamber to put the franchise in a better spot beyond 2025.