Grading ESPN’s Cardinals-Steelers George Pickens trade proposal

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about Pickens is that the only thing that is holding him back should be the easiest issue to correct. Pickens can come into just about any matchup with a significant physical advantage. Sometimes, he really struggles with the mental side of the game. This is particularly noticeable when things aren’t going his way and Pickens isn’t getting the ball. In these cases, he often struggles to maintain his focus. Pickens becomes disengaged and this leads to nothing but bad outcomes for the receiver and his team.

When Pickens is disengaged due to a lack of targets or the feeling that things aren’t going his way, he will frequently lose his composure. Sometimes, this manifests itself in inexplicable dropped passes. It’s clear when he loses focus because those are seemingly the only times that he will drop routine passes that he could otherwise catch in his sleep.

What Pickens desperately needs just about anything else is to improve on the mental side of the game. All he needs to do to become a superstar is to work on maintaining his focus even when things are seemingly all going against him.

What makes this situation so frustrating for the Steelers is that this should seemingly be the easiest thing to correct. There are so many players who would do anything to have Pickens’ physical talents.

It’s cruelly ironic for the Steelers and their fans that Pickens has already achieved the hardest aspect of superstardom. If he matures and develops in the mental side of the game, he’ll almost certainly unlock superstar ability.

Why the Steelers should make this trade

The Steelers should make this trade because Pickens has been in their locker room for three seasons now and he seemingly has made little to no mental improvement. There are very few reasons for the team to expect that anybody will suddenly be able to get through to Pickens. Mike Tomlin has a well-deserved reputation as a player’s coach, and yet Tomlin has failed to reach the former Georgia star.

Russell Wilson’s calm, measured, reassuring, and wise veteran presence wasn’t enough to get through to Pickens, and his lengthy track record of success didn’t seem to help much. It’s certainly possible that this just is who George Pickens is. If that is true, it might be wise to trade him now, while he will likely return maximum value, and before could potentially disrupt the development of other Young pass catchers

Why the Steelers should not make this trade

On the other hand, George Pickens has all of the tools to be a superstar. Trading him now would represent the Steelers effectively punting on one of the few opportunities they have to significantly improve their pass-catching corps. The sky is the absolute limit for Pickens. At just 25 years old, it would be way too premature to just slam the door shut on George Pickens’ future.

The only way that the Steelers should be willing to trade is if they are able to get a true difference maker and or significant premium draft capital back in as a return for any deal involving Pickens.

As currently constructed, the trade proposed does not fit this criteria. Names such as Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers should be considered. Given the recent acquisition of DK Metcalf, the Steelers do have one borderline Steelers superstar receiver. However, they’ll need somebody to take the pressure off Metcalf. If the team didn’t want to add another pass-catcher. they would at least need to seek out a true difference-maker in any transaction involving Pickens

The Steelers need another elite wideout, and a duo of Metcalf and Pickens would be deadly. If Pickens becomes more consistent, these two could combine to form one of the top five receiving duos in the league. They shouldn’t give up on this possibility without getting equivalent offensive firepower in return. The proposed deal simply doesn’t achieve that goal.

Overall grade: C-