If you’ve covered (or even followed) the NFL long enough, then you know to never say never. Never ever. Still, trades involving notable players in the immediate aftermath of the draft are pretty rare.
Naturally, we had one Wednesday morning, the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers agreeing to a swap that will send explosive – a catch-all term – WR George Pickens and a 2027 sixth-round pick to “America’s Team” while a 2026 third-rounder and 2027 fifth-rounder head to the Steel City in exchange.
Big name. Big-name teams. And – likely – big-time ramifications, even if they’re not necessarily cut and dried as we lay out this curious deal’s winners and losers:
WINNERS
George Pickens?
No one emerges from this transaction with a bigger opportunity. Pickens has been a football paradox – talented, mercurial, (occasionally) dominant and temperamental all adjectives you might see readily associated with him. Let’s just say after three seasons with the Steelers, who took Pickens in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft, Pickens has crafted something of a professional reputation. Yet going into the final year of his rookie contract, he has a chance to burnish it – even change the narrative as we say nowadays – and reasonably put up some really nice numbers in a Dallas offense that has skewed pass-heavy in recent seasons…all with countless millions on the line as he angles for his second NFL contract, which is so often the one that truly allows twentysomethings to be set for life if they responsibly manage the money. Pickens is barely 24. If he plays his cards right, he shouldn’t have to worry for much – at least financially – for the rest of his life. He also has a shot to establish himself as one of the leading lights on what is arguably the most high-profile professional sports franchise in the world – a circumstance with the added potential to open so many more doors now and well into the future.
Kaleb Johnson
There’s been a lot of talk in Pittsburgh in recent years about getting back to the franchise’s smashmouth roots – at least those that were largely responsible for bringing six Lombardi Trophies to the confluence of the three rivers. That means an elite defense (the pieces remain in place there) and a physical, run-oriented offense – something that’s been absent all too often in the 16 years since the Steelers last won the Super Bowl. But with Pickens gone and Mason Rudolph listed as the starting quarterback – wink – Johnson, who was taken in the third round of last month’s draft, could legitimately become the focal point of this offense. A 6-1, 224-pounder, all he did last season at Iowa was lead the Big Ten with 1,537 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns on the ground, an effort that earned Johnson All-America honors. If Pittsburgh’s young and talented offensive line comes together in 2025, the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year trophy might just be the next piece of hardware Johnson picks up.
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Calvin Austin III and Pat Freiermuth
Whether it’s Rudolph or a certain future first-ballot Hall of Famer slinging the rock in Pittsburgh next year, Austin and Freiermuth stand to benefit as it pertains to prominent roles in the pass game. Not only is Pickens’ target share up for grabs, but it seems quite likely that this offense – perhaps from both personnel and philosophical perspectives – will evolve in a way that more heavily favors a slot receiver like Austin and tight end like Freiermuth than it would have an outside deep threat like Pickens.
Dak Prescott?
The NFL’s MVP runner-up in 2023, when he led the league in touchdown passes (36) and completions (410) under then-offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, is coming off a 2024 campaign marred by a serious hamstring injury but will return to the lineup with a shiny new weapon. And given the unsettled state of Dallas’ run game, another playmaker – regardless of position – obviously helps.
CeeDee Lamb?
He was probably the league’s best receiver two years ago, leading the NFL in targets (181) and receptions (135) as Prescott’s main man on a squad that went 12-5 and won the NFC East. Yet sometimes, a little less can mean a lot more – and given the Cowboys’ ground game has no bell cow, Lamb was facing the possibility of constant double-teams (at least) in 2025. The danger Pickens poses as a deep threat will make opposing safeties think twice about cheating too far into Lamb’s area code.
Aaron Rodgers?
Had we mentioned him? No? Is he coming to Pittsburgh? Maybe? For the sake of argument, let’s assume the four-time MVP is – and it’s probably safe to project that Rodgers’ demanding persona and penchant for laying into receivers who don’t run routes to his exacting specifications would have had the oil-and-water effect on Pickens. Rodgers is unlikely to suffer much from this move … assuming he moves to Western Pennsylvania.
Mike Tomlin?
He’s been the Steelers’ top dog for a minute. He’s coached talented receivers like Antonio Brown, Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson and Pickens. Yet Bruce Springsteen might’ve summarized those situations by saying, “He’s still there, they’re all gone.” Going into his 19th season as Pittsburgh’s head coach, Tomlin is living proof that talent doesn’t always win out in the NFL …
LOSERS
Mike Tomlin?
… but let’s not sweep aside the unavoidable truth that Pickens’ departure needs to mean a whole lot of addition by subtraction – and much of that equation may be determined by its effect on the Steelers locker room and/or other aspects of the operation that reporters and fans parsing this deal may not be privy to. But this much we know – an offense that hasn’t set the league on fire during the post-Ben Roethlisberger era just jettisoned a player who was probably good for 60 catches, 1,000 receiving yards and a half-dozen TDs, not to mention the attention he commands from a game-planning perspective. This trade is also at least a year away from providing Tomlin a warm body who can help keep his résumé free of a losing season in Pittsburgh and, more importantly, might contribute to the Steelers’ first playoff win since the 2016 postseason.
Aaron Rodgers?
Whether or not he’s better off in this steadily morphing offense remains to be seen – though, again, remember how it worked (meaning it didn’t) with Mike Williams last year when he and Rodgers were members of the New York Jets. Pickens is better than Williams yet still a similar player. Regardless, can Rodgers, who will be 42 in December, really look at the Steelers’ roster and determine that he can stack significant wins with a franchise that’s offloading assets for future draft capital that may never help him?
DK Metcalf?
He recently signed a four-year, $132 million extension after being traded from the Seattle Seahawks to the Steelers this offseason. Moving forward? Metcalf now faces the same prospect Lamb might have as the guy opposing defenses won’t allow to beat them and could very well be destined for consecutive seasons being limited to fewer than 1,000 receiving yards.
Dak Prescott?
So what if Pickens wilts under the unwavering media spotlight trained on the Cowboys? What if he doesn’t work out as a hired gun in 2025? What if Dallas’ offense comes to a grinding halt rather than taking off? You can take this to the bank – Pickens won’t be answering those questions every week, but Prescott most definitely will be.
Brian Schottenheimer?
If Tomlin was OK with moving on from Pickens, how is a first-year head coach like Schottenheimer supposed to deal with him? Schottenheimer, 51, has certainly been around the NFL block and worked with big-time wideout personalities like Metcalf, Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards and – to a lesser degree – Lamb during multiple stints as an offensive coordinator. But Pickens could represent a whole new level of the infamous NFL receiver diva if this goes off the rails.
Jerry Jones?
The Cowboys owner and de facto general manager doesn’t exactly have a sterling track record when it comes to acquiring veteran receivers. Joey Galloway. Terry Glenn. Keyshawn Johnson. Rocket Ismail. Terrell Owens. Roy Williams. Even last year’s trade with the Carolina Panthers for Jonathan Mingo, who caught all of five passes after his midseason arrival, is still being panned in Dallas. Why not just sign free agent Amari Cooper, one of Jones’ better wideout pickups over the years, and not surrender the draft assets for what may be a one-year roll of the dice on Pickens?
Omar Khan
The Steelers general manager indicated right before last month’s draft that he wouldn’t be trading Pickens during it – and Khan kept his word. And, sure, maybe this is a case of a team unloading a guy one year ahead of free agency and getting something (very slightly) better than a third-round compensatory pick in return. But unless Pickens’ circumstances somehow materially changed over the past week or the Cowboys greatly increased what’s still a fairly modest offer, why not make this move in time to get draft capital – and a player or two – in return this year? Maybe Khan still has a card or two to play – Cooper and Keenan Allen are among veteran wideout options who remain unsigned and could help the Steelers in 2025, though neither is the game-breaker Pickens is at this point in their careers. But from Pickens’ exit to Rodgers’ seeming ambivalence, it’s hard to figure where Khan is steering the 2025 Steelers with training camp not three months away.
George Pickens?
Seriously, man, don’t blow this. Be a professional – on and off the field. Go get your bag. Because if you don’t capitalize now, it may never happen for you.
