George Pickens trade winners, losers: Cowboys QB Dak Prescott gets a new weapon

Let's dissect the trade's winners and losers.

Winner: Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott

Prescott, entering his 10th season as the Cowboys starting quarterback, is the trade's biggest winner. Paired with All-Pro wideout CeeDee Lamb, Pickens gives Prescott a potentially devastating 1-2 combo at wide receiver.

Pickens is an excellent deep threat who can take the lid off defenses. Per NFL Pro, Pickens had 515 receiving yards on deep receptions, defined as passes that travel at least 20 yards before being caught, the league's second-most.

NFL Pro Insights also noted his knack for making circus catches, with Pickens tallying 471 receiving yards on pass attempts with a completion probability less than a 50 percent.

In 2023, Pickens' second season, he had 63 receptions, 1,140 receiving yards (18.1 yards per reception) and five receiving touchdowns. His numbers diminished in 2024, and his off-field issues became too much for Pittsburgh to ignore.

Pickens was late to the team's Christmas Day game at Kansas City and accosted fans during a Week 18 loss to the Bengals, per January 2025 reporting from The Athletic's Mike DeFabo.

While his behavior warrants some concern, the Cowboys are betting his issues were specific to the Steelers and won't be replicated in a new environment.

Loser: Steelers' quarterback pitch 

Pittsburgh's pitch to free-agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers became more complicated. With Pickens gone, the Steelers are back to being a one-man show with off-season trade acquisition DK Metcalf the team's only solid receiving option.

Running back Jaylen Warren is another quality playmaker, but the team has questions behind him on the depth chart after former Steelers back Najee Harris signed with the Chargers in free agency.

By trading away one of their top offensive playmakers, the Steelers, who currently have Mason Rudolph listed as QB1, have much less to offer Rodgers or any other available quarterback.

Winner: DK Metcalf's fantasy value

Metcalf will be Rudolph's (or whoever suits up at quarterback) first, second and third option in the passing attack, setting the two-time Pro Bowler up for a monster season.

He posted a career-high 141 targets in 2022, his fourth NFL season, and it wouldn't be surprising if he reached (or surpassed) those heights in 2025. After all, who else is Pittsburgh throwing to?

Loser: Cowboys offensive coordinator Klayton Adams

Dallas has made a concerted effort to resurrect its run game this offseason, signing former Cardinals offensive line coach Klayton Adams as its offensive coordinator.

When hired, Adams discussed with reporters his philosophy and what type of players he wanted.

"The same thing that I want from every player on offense, and that is to create violence in the game," Adams said. "Be aggressive, run, hit, I think that every decision that we make schematically needs to lean that direction."

It's a bit strange, then, for the Cowboys to trade for Pickens, who infamously declined to block for Warren in a December 2023 game at the Colts, and explained afterward that he didn't want to get hurt.

"When you stay in and block somebody, you can get run on very easily," Pickens shared. (h/t NFL.com) 

Adams will have earned his pay if he can get Pickens to buy-in as a downfield run blocker. It won't be easy.

Winner: Cowboys owner Jerry Jones

It's the middle of the NFL offseason, and everyone is talking about the Cowboys. Ultimately, that appears to be what's most important to Jones, even more so than winning. 

While we must wait to see what kind of impact Pickens has during the regular season, he's put the Cowboys in the offseason spotlight, which is exactly where Jones wants to be.