NFL Trade Grades: George Pickens is gone, but problems remain for the Steelers

He is not that big of a problem, nor is he anything close to panacea. He is George Pickens, a terrific football player who has a long track record for being a perpetual ice cream headache. Pickens was this way when he played for my beloved Georgia Bulldogs. This continued into his first three NFL seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now he is about to begin year four with the Dallas Cowboys.

We had a feeling this might be coming, but it finally came to fruition on Wednesday. The Steelers ended up trading Pickens to Dallas for future draft compensation. Pittsburgh regains some draft capital to try again at fixing its wide receiver room in a future draft. As for Dallas, the Cowboys get the perfect No. 2 wide receiver to pair next to CeeDee Lamb. I bet Dak Prescott is over the moon already!

This was the tweet from ESPN's Adam Schefter that got everyone excited early Wednesday morning.

Schefter's ESPN colleague Todd Archer provided a bit more clarity later as to what the compensation would be between both parties. Dallas acquired Pickens and a 2027 sixth-round pick in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick going Pittsburgh's way. Right now, Pittsburgh still has the better team, but Dallas has the far better quarterback. The Steelers still need to get someone.

Here is a visual representation of what the Pickens deal looks like between Dallas and Pittsburgh.

In a weird way, we are looking at two teams with the same finite ceiling. If all goes according to plan, the Steelers can win about 10 or 11 games with the way their roster is currently constructed. Dallas needs everything to go its way to hit that mark, but it could now with the addition of Pickens to the receiving corps that was in dire need of a true No. 2. I long felt that Pickens was miscast in Pittsburgh.

So without further ado, let's hand out some trade grades for both NFL parties in the Pickens trade.

NFL trade grades: Who won the George Pickens deal, Dallas or Pittsburgh?

For Pittsburgh to come out on top, three things must happen. They must be right in their assessment of Pickens as an addition by subtraction. I do not buy that because Mike Tomlin is their biggest issue as a franchise. As we often say down south, bless your heart. The second is they need to get a better quarterback for their money. The third is they need to hit on those two picks coming over from Dallas.

For Dallas to win this trade, the Cowboys need for Pickens and Lamb to help carry Prescott's massive contract into the playoff mix, and probably making it in. This is because Pickens is entering the final season of his four-year rookie contract. It is a simpler way to define success than what needs to happen for Pittsburgh, but I would not say it is as probable. In a way, I wonder if either team will win...

Right now, I am going to declare Dallas the slight winners in this trade. The Cowboys landed the better or more proven player. For better or worse, they have an identity as an offense for this season going forward. Rather than play Martyball like his late father would have done, Brian Schottenheimer is going to make Prescott throw the ball a ton to Lamb and Pickens. I could get behind that a bit more.

Pittsburgh should win around nine games this season, but be a colossal waste of time in the process.

Grades: Dallas Cowboys (B+), Pittsburgh Steelers (B-), Overall (B).