Did All-Powerful Aaron Make The Pickens Trade to the Cowboys?

FRISCO - In a sense, was it "Unofficial Assistant GM'' Aaron Rodgers who actually engineered the trade that landed George Pickens with the Dallas Cowboys?

Here's how the story goes, as discussed by our Mike Fisher below in his Cowboys "Fish Report'' ...

Pittsburgh, shortly after trading for and signing D.K. Metcalf, opted to pull the plug on also keeping top receiver George Pickens by trading him to the Cowboys for a third-round pick.

This killed the vision of Metcalf and Pickens playing together in Pittsburgh ... a pretty juicy concept.

Why was it killed?

Eventually, free agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers made it official that he would be signing with Pittsburgh for his 21st season in the league.

And according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the Steelers goodbye to Pickens was directly tied to their hello to Rodgers.

“The Steelers moved on from Pickens for a few reasons,” Fowler writes. “His maturity issues were well-known within Pittsburgh’s locker room and front office. So, the Steelers made the evaluation that Pickens and Rodgers probably would not hit it off.”

"Would not hit it off''? 

Does this mean the Steelers consulted with Rodgers about Pickens? Or that they simply assumed that the persnickety Rodgers, 41, would clash with the temperamental Pickens, 24?

And here's what's interesting, too, as Fish points out: The idea that Rodgers will represent an upgrade over Pickens in the areas of unselfishness and maturity does not wash.

"In my 40 years of covering the NFL,'' Fish says, "the all-time leader in 'Drama Queening' is Aaron Rodgers.''

Would Pickens and Rodgers have meshed? Luckily for Dallas, the involved parties in Pittsburgh assumed not.

Rodgers, back when he was actually good (about a half-decade ago in Green Bay) was a No. 1 nemesis of Dallas.

But here? If he had a hand in any way in Pickens joining a Dallas offense led by Dak Prescott and featuring All-Pro centerpiece CeeDee Lamb?

The Cowboys might've finally beaten the four-time NFL MVP.