The Pittsburgh Steelers are stuck in quarterback purgatory, and in a sport where no position matters nearly as much as the one under center, it’s easy to feel like no move is meaningful until the right passer is in the building.
To an extent, that’s true. Neither receiver DK Metcalf nor defensive tackle Derrick Harmon is significantly changing the Steelers’ Super Bowl chances. Even bringing in Aaron Rodgers, the most talented quarterback left on the open market, is not going to move the needle.
Barring a plague of injuries, Pittsburgh will be among the lowest-variance teams in the NFL in 2025. It’s easy to see a Mike Tomlin-led team squeaking into the playoffs and losing in the first round, or coming up excruciatingly short. Between Mason Rudolph and Will Howard, it’s an all-too-familiar feeling in Western Pennsylvania.
Perhaps that’s what has opened fans up to the George Pickens trade. If the next great Steelers team had a star quarterback, there was every chance that the receiver, a 2026 free agent, wouldn’t be there to see it.
In dealing Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys for a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 Day 3 pick swap, Pittsburgh made its intentions clear. The 2025 season will be more of the same, but Pickens can help the 2026 team whether or not he’s on the roster.
Underdog Fantasy insider James Palmer revealed the key to the Steelers trading Pickens for a 2026 draft pick, rather than keeping him or trading him before/during the 2025 NFL Draft.
"The compensation that they end up getting, this third-round pick in 2026 and this fifth-round pick in 2027 and the comp picks they are going to have in 2027," said Palmer (h/t Steelers Depot). "They are aggressively, to my understanding, going after a quarterback in the 2026 Draft at the top of the draft, which is a better class than this past one."
Every quarterback class is a good one until more serious scouting is done and flaws get exposed. But the 2026 class at least has a bevy of options for Pittsburgh to investigate.
There’s no guarantee Arch Manning comes out in 2026, although he has the most hype (fair or not). LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier has his fair share of fans, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers is an elite athlete, Clemson’s Cade Klubnik has shown consistent growth, and Nico Iamaleava is embarking on one of the higher-profile transfers in NIL-based history. Both Penn State’s Drew Allar and Miami’s Carson Beck were mocked to the Steelers at points during the 2025 draft cycle.
"People were talking about a George Pickens trade during the draft," Palmer said. "They didn't want 2025 capital, they wanted 2026 capital because that is where the talent is at quarterback."
Pittsburgh might not have the misfortune of “tanking,” given Tomlin’s presence and a legitimately talented roster. In stockpiling assets, though, the Steelers can position themselves well to trade up with a team picking atop the draft.
It’s too early to tell the full impact of Pickens’ departure. If his biggest contribution to Pittsburgh is landing the quarterback that pulls them from purgatory, he’ll go down favorably in the annals of Steelers history.