The Pittsburgh Steelers made a shocking trade after the draft, dealing away their top receiver to the Dallas Cowboys.
The Steelers shipped away George Pickens, who just turned 24 and is still on his rookie contract, after leading the team in receiving yards in each of the last two seasons.
It isn't the first time the Steelers dealt a talented receiver with Mike Tomlin at the helm as head coach.
The Steelers dealt away Santonio Holmes in 2010, Martavis Bryant in 2018, Antonio Brown in 2019, Chase Claypool in 2023, Dionte Johnson in 2024, and now Pickens in 2025. Pickens' production in Dallas remains to be seen, but none of the other former Steelers matched their Pittsburgh production in their new homes.
Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Hayward realizes the trend, and made the point on his Not Just Football Pod.
“I think we’ve got to look at the track record of trading wide receivers,” Heyward said. “There’s been some good history behind this and when to do it, what to expect. I was looking at a stat. There’s only been like three or four receivers that made it past the rookie contracts with the Steelers. It’s crazy.
“You had AB; you had Diontae Johnson; you had Hines Ward; I think you had JuJu [Smith-Schuster] for another year. For the most part, they know when to re-sign and when to trade, and we’ll see what happens. We could be a better team because of it.”
Hayward found out about the news in the morning just like everyone else did on May 7. He called it a surprise, although the team appeared to be heading in the direction of moving on from Pickens when they dealt a second-round pick to Seattle for DK Metcalf, who they invested a five-year, $150 million contract to.
“I didn’t know anything about it. . . . I woke up the next morning, and he had been traded,” Heyward said. “Was I surprised? Yeah, but the game is the game. I know it benefits both teams. We get another third-round pick. They get a wide receiver to go along with CeeDee Lamb. Would I have liked to see George and DK play together? Yeah, but hopefully there’s something in the works. ...''
For now, what's "in the works'' in the mind of some in Pittsburgh is that the Pickens trade is a matter of "addition by subtraction.''