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Cowboys WR George Pickens has history against him after Steelers trade

Originally posted on NFL on ClutchPoints | By Ben Strauss | Last updated May 8, 2025 11:03 AM ET

The Dallas Cowboys made headlines on Wednesday after trading for Steelers WR George Pickens. This move gives Dallas a starting-caliber receiver to pair with CeeDee Lamb ahead of the 2025 NFL season. Unfortunately, not everyone is convinced that this move will pan out.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter warned that Cowboys WR George Pickens does not have history on his side after being traded from the Steelers.

Schefter cited research from ESPN’s Paul Hembekides about past Steelers wide receivers who went on to produce outside of Pittsburgh. Hembekides found that almost all qualifying receivers over the past 20 years played significantly worse outside of Pittsburgh.

In fact, when measuring by yardage, almost all of those receivers saw at least a 20% dip in their production.

Hembekides list includes a mixture of players at various levels of talent, which seems to reinforce his argument. The list includes superstar player like Antonio Brown, good players like Santonio Holmes and JuJu Smith-Schuster, and some duds like Chase Claypool and Martavis Bryant.

Hembekides specifically measured a player’s highest yard per game during their time in Pittsburgh.

Pickens managed 59.2 yards per game during his best season with the Steelers. If Pickens played in all 17 games, he would have to gain more than 1,006 receiving yards to remain in line with his production from Pittsburgh. Therefore, he’d have to exceed 1,006 receiving yards to make himself an outlier who succeeded outside of Pittsburgh.

Pickens certainly has his work cut out for himself ahead of the 2025 NFL season.

NFL media has split opinions after Cowboys trade for George Pickens

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens (14) breaks through the defense for a touchdown reception in the first quarter of the NFL Week 13 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There is no clear consensus in the media as to whether this trade was good or bad for the Cowboys.

Former NFL QB Robert Griffin III is one fan of the move. He praised the Cowboys for upgrading their offense in a recent post on social media.

“The George Pickens trade gives the Dallas Cowboys two #1 WRs and a Top 5 WR Duo in the NFL. Now THAT’s an ALL IN MOVE,” Griffin declared on X, formerly Twitter.

Meanwhile, the move also has some vocal critics.

Stephen A. Smith may be the most vocal critic of the George Pickens trade.

Smith roasted the Cowboys on Wednesday shortly after the trade was announced.

“Congratulations to the Cowboys,” Smith joked. “I’m sure it looks good on paper as it always does. … They’re gonna go back to teasing us into believing that they’re relevant.”

Smith suggested that Dallas added a receiver who “is supposed to be a headache,” which he argued could be too much for first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer.

Cowboys fans will have to wait and see whether this trade was genius, insane, or somewhere in the middle.

This article first appeared on NFL on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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