What Steelers Would Need to Trade George Pickens

The idea of a George Pickens trade ramped up ahead of and during the 2025 NFL Draft, but nothing came to fruition and the Pittsburgh Steelers ultimately held on to him.

The Dallas Cowboys were among the teams that were reportedly in pursuit of the star wide receiver as the Steelers looked to land a Day 2 pick after trading their own second-rounder for DK Metcalf in March.

Dallas still makes sense as a potential destination for Pickens considering it desperately needs another weapon to pair with CeeDee Lamb, but a trade has become a bit more complicated following the draft.

That's not to say one can't or won't happen, but Pittsburgh has to be particularly cognizant of what it would receive in return for the 24-year-old when factoring in the compensatory pick formula.

Should Pickens turn in another strong campaign, hit the open market next offseason and sign a massive deal with another team, the Steelers would have the potential to net a third-rounder in the 2027 draft depending on who they sign in free agency.

As he enters the final year of his rookie deal, it'll be interesting to see how his situation plays out over the coming months. Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Pickens "flirted" with the idea of requesting a trade but decided against it in the end.

Pittsburgh could lose some leverage if he were to change his mind and/or hold out in hopes of signing an extension with the team, but attempting to analyze just how likely either of those scenarios are would come as pure speculation at this point.

If the Steelers do find themselves in a position where they're shopping Pickens or looking to push a trade across the finish line, they'd more or less need a Day 2 pick in 2026 plus a Day 3 selection or two.

The organization gave up their aforementioned second-rounder alongside a sixth-round pick in order to acquire Metcalf and a seventh-rounder. That type of package should provide Pittsburgh with a similar framework as to which a Pickens trade could be centered around, even if it's not perfect.

The bottom line is that if the Steelers are looking to move off Pickens, they shouldn't part ways with him for pennies on the dollar.