The Pittsburgh Steelers have a George Pickens problem, even if they aren’t ready to admit it yet. Because Pickens has a hot head and if you think he’s going to accept a second-fiddle role to DK Metcalf, you’re delusional. Pickens wants the ball, needs to be the No. 1 receiver and the Steelers can’t offer him that.
The Las Vegas Raiders can. That’s why the Steelers have to think about potentially dealing Pickens out west and absolving themselves of the pending problem. Pickens, for as productive as he is, has some attitude problems and those will boil over this season. In Las Vegas, he can be the go-to target for Geno Smith.
Why George Pickens to the Las Vegas Raiders makes sense for everybody involved
The Raiders have been starving for a top receiver. Brock Bowers was a surprise for the offense, as he eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards on a miserable offense. With him and Pickens, plus the addition of Ashton Jeanty in the draft, this Raiders offense might just have enough to compete in the loaded AFC West.
Pickens is starving to have a quarterback that can get the ball to him and have an offense built around his skillset. He would have that in Las Vegas. Think about it, the Raiders don’t have a true No. 1 target after they dealt Davante Adams.
The AFC West is no joke. The division had three teams reach the playoffs with the Kansas City Chiefs reaching the Super Bowl. If the Raiders don’t make a big move, they’ll get left behind again.
Smith had the luxury of throwing to both Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Metcalf. The Raiders receiver room right now is significantly underwhelming compared to what he had in Seattle. The Raiders have to find a way to get Smith some outside targets.
That starts with Pickens. The Steelers signed Robert Woods recently, though he’s probably more of a depth signing to see if Pickens can drum up enough interest to actually get traded. If Pickens is on the 53-man roster in Pittsburgh, Woods probably won’t be.
Which is fine, but it also means the Raiders should pounce now. If they wait until after the preseason to try and trade for Pickens, the asking price would probably be higher or even shut down altogether.
Smith needs some help. Bowers is good but he’s not enough. They need to add Pickens and right now, they have every reason to put together a package. Their offense needs help. If they want to be relevant in the AFC and AFC West, they need to make some moves. Pickens is the obvious choice for now.