Aaron Rodgers isn’t the only hot-button topic currently surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers. While the Steelers continue to wait for the legendary quarterback to make up his mind, there have been some rumblings regarding the future of Pittsburgh wideout George Pickens leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft, which will begin on Thursday night.
While general manager Omar Khan said Tuesday that the Steelers do not plan to trade him, conversations have taken place, according to Fox Sports.
If the Steelers do consider trading Pickens, they would probably want either a Day 2 draft pick (preferably a second-round pick to replace the one they used to acquire DK Metcalf) and/or a wideout who can replace Pickens. Given the draft starts Thursday night, it’s safe to assume that Pittsburgh is more interested in obtaining draft picks, although a player-for-player trade shouldn’t be ruled out if the Steelers are offered the right player.
Several NFL teams would likely want Pickens, a 2022 second-round pick who led the NFL in average yards per catch in 2023. Here’s a look at five possible options if Pittsburgh elects to trade Pickens this offseason.
Las Vegas desperately needs a receiver and would likely trade as high as a second-round pick to acquire one of Pickens’ stature. The Raiders have the draft capital to pull off a trade with the Steelers. Las Vegas, in addition to having the No. 6 overall pick, has second- and third-round picks that could be used to acquire Pickens.
Dallas needs a wideout to complement CeeDee Lamb. Instead of taking a chance on a rookie, the Cowboys could decide to trade for Pickens while giving Dak Prescott another proven wideout to throw to. Making this deal make more sense for Dallas is that Pickens is still on his rookie contract, so the Cowboys (for now) wouldn’t be hurt from a financial standpoint.
49ers
San Francisco would make sense on several fronts. With Pickens in tow, the 49ers would have flexibility when it comes to Brandon Aiyuk, the formerly disgruntled wideout who suffered a season-ending injury last year following a lengthy and nasty holdout. Aiyuk ultimately got his new contract, but it didn’t come without some collateral damage. The 49ers could have Aiyuk and Pickens for at least one season before possibly moving Aiyuk.
The 49ers could trade Aiyuk to the Steelers, but Pittsburgh wouldn’t want to take on his salary. This trade would likely be about the Steelers acquiring a high draft pick unless the 49ers would be willing to deal Jauan Jennings, a 2020 seventh-round pick who set career highs last year with 77 receptions for 975 yards and six touchdowns. Pittsburgh would probably still need some sort of additional compensation in this scenario.
New Orleans has the trade capital (two Day 2 draft picks) to make this deal happen. And if they are able to use one of their later picks to acquire Pickens, the Saints wouldn’t have to use their No. 9 overall pick on a wideout and could instead use it to select Shedeur Sanders given Derek Carr’s injury situation.
Arizona needs to bolster its receiving corps if it’s going to contend for a playoff spot in 2025. A proven wideout would also help open things up for Marvin Harrison Jr. following his good, but not great, rookie season. With Pickens, the Cardinals would have a pretty impressive list of skill players that also includes Harrison, quarterback Kyler Murray, tight end Trey McBride and former Steelers Pro Bowl running back James Conner.
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