-
Seth Walder
The Dallas Cowboys made a giant splash on Wednesday morning, agreeing to a trade for extensive receiver George Pickens. They are going to ship a 2026 third-round decide and a 2027 fifth-round decide to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Pickens and a 2027 sixth-round decide.
The Cowboys had been looking for a legit WR2 alongside CeeDee Lamb, and Pickens ought to elevate their offense. However is Pickens undoubtedly the reply for Dallas? And did Pittsburgh get sufficient again in return?
Let’s grade either side. Who truly gained the deal? I am evaluating the commerce primarily based on a number of components, together with on-field impression, general worth for either side, wage cap implications, and the context of every workforce’s short- and long-term QB outlooks.
Grading Pickens to Dallas
After passing on the extensive receiver place fully on this 12 months’s draft, the Cowboys lastly acquired their second receiver to enhance Lamb. Pickens is a superb match with Lamb, too. He is an out of doors vertical receiver who will enable Lamb to keep up his heavy dosage of slot alignments within the Cowboys’ offense. Pickens ran go routes and deep fades 19% of the time final season, the Tenth-highest price amongst receivers with not less than 300 routes run. He managed 900 yards over 14 video games in 2024 and hit 1,140 receiving yards in 2023. And he posted a powerful 2.2 yards per route run each years.
Based on ESPN’s player-tracking-based receiver scores, Pickens has proven development in his capacity to get open since his rookie season. He had a 48 open rating in 2022, however that rose to 70 and 68 the previous two years. Nonetheless, his catch rating has dropped from a excessive of 99 in his rookie 12 months to 72 in 2023 after which 40 final season. That appears just like the profile of a participant who may see constructive regression, since a receiver’s capacity to get open is extra steady from 12 months to 12 months than his capacity to make catches over expectation.
So, on paper, this transfer makes loads of sense for the Cowboys. As poorly as 2024 went for this workforce, the roster nonetheless has the identical core because the one which went 12-5 in 2023 (albeit with a special coach) and had a significant weak point at receiver after Lamb. To surrender a shade greater than a third-round decide for one 12 months of Pickens is cheap, contemplating how a lot much less it’ll price the Cowboys (underneath $3.4 million) than if he had been on the open market.
However this transfer is just not made solely on paper. An enormous a part of the explanation Pickens is obtainable is it appears the Steelers had had sufficient of him. After Pickens had two unsportsmanlike penalties against the Bengals final season, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said, “He is acquired a goal on his again as a result of he is George; he understands that. However he is acquired to develop up. He is acquired to develop up in a rush.” Then, after the season, Tomlin said, “There is definitely clearly extra room for development there.” Earlier within the season, there have been questions over Pickens’ effort, too, although Tomlin dismissed these issues on the time.
The chance right here is mitigated by the one-year dedication, and if I had been the Cowboys, I might need to maintain it that manner. They need to let him play out the season and possibly let him stroll subsequent offseason in trade for the potential of a compensatory decide. If Dallas indicators Pickens to an extension earlier than the 2025 season, I might considerably cut back its grade right here.
For the Steelers, that is good compensation. The league extensively knew they wished to maneuver on from Pickens, and so they nonetheless acquired a Day 2 decide again.
Pittsburgh already acquired Pickens’ substitute in DK Metcalf earlier this offseason. Whereas the 2 wideouts may have performed collectively, there’s an apparent overlap of their kinds, and it actually seems that the Metcalf acquisition was in anticipation of shedding Pickens. Nonetheless, the Steelers as soon as once more have a receiver downside. Behind Metcalf on the depth chart are Calvin Austin III, Robert Woods and Roman Wilson.
The final piece of the puzzle is how this pertains to Aaron Rodgers. And not using a second receiver subsequent to Metcalf, Pittsburgh is that a lot farther from being an instantaneous contender. That makes bringing in Rodgers somewhat tougher to justify — even when the Steelers’ choices at QB are extraordinarily restricted with the draft within the rearview mirror. Maybe Kirk Cousins may very well be one other route?
Grade for the Cowboys: B-
