{"id":36537,"date":"2025-03-28T01:55:17","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T01:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=36537"},"modified":"2025-03-28T01:55:17","modified_gmt":"2025-03-28T01:55:17","slug":"breaking-steelers-trade-pitch-ships-away-george-pickens-for-new-wr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=36537","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Steelers Trade Pitch Ships Away George Pickens for New WR.."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/George-Pickens10-e1743082983390.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/George-Pickens10-e1743082983390.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/George-Pickens10-e1743082983390.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/George-Pickens10-e1743082983390.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Steelers WR George Pickens.\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" data-dom-ready-time=\"880\" data-img-load-time=\"1163\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">Will the Pittsburgh Steelers trade star wide receiver George Pickens during the 2025 NFL Draft?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0have a history of trading away their wide receiver draft picks before they reach the point where they have to pay them, and\u00a0George Pickens\u00a0could be the next Pittsburgh playmaker to suffer this fate.<\/p>\n<p>On March 25, Steelers beat reporter\u00a0Mike DeFabo (The Athletic) produced a mock draft\u00a0where he proposed that Pittsburgh trade Pickens to the\u00a0Carolina Panthers\u00a0for a second-round pick \u2014 No. 57 overall in this year\u2019s draft, to be exact. Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen the Steelers acquired\u00a0DK Metcalf, they put themselves in a position of power,\u201d DeFabo explained. \u201cThey could keep Metcalf and Pickens, making a formidable tandem in 2025. However, Pickens is entering the final year of his rookie contract. It seems unlikely the Steelers would want to pay two big-money receivers, especially after Mike Tomlin said just a few months ago Pickens needs to \u2018grow up.\u2019 Pickens could take control of his situation by \u2018holding in\u2019 during training camp, the same tactic\u00a0Diontae Johnson and others have used to apply pressure when seeking a new contract.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInstead of going down that messy road, I\u2019d be in favor of trading Pickens now when his value is the highest,\u201d DeFabo went on, stating his case. \u201cPerhaps the Panthers, who traded for Johnson last year but still could use help next to\u00a0Xavier Legette\u00a0and an aging\u00a0Adam Thielen, would be interested. The Steelers could immediately use this pick to draft his replacement, resetting the clock on their WR2 contract situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Steelers Reporter Spends George Pickens Trade Return on WR Prospect Jayden Higgins<\/h2>\n<p>After flipping Pickens for a new second rounder \u2014 and replacing the second rounder the Steelers gave up for Metcalf \u2014 DeFabo suggested drafting Iowa State wide receiver Jayden Higgins.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt 6-4 and 217 pounds, Higgins is coming off a breakout season, making 87 catches for 1,183 receiving yards and nine touchdowns,\u201d the reporter reasoned. \u201cAs a willing blocker with a large catch radius and solid hands, he would fit on a Steelers team that ran the ball the fourth-most in the league in 2024. Though he played inside and outside in college, many see him as a big slot at the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStylistically, that would fit in well in the receiver room, as Metcalf could stretch the field vertically while Higgins provides a safety blanket underneath,\u201d DeFabo continued. \u201cIf the Steelers end up landing\u00a0Aaron Rodgers, it would also be a fit. Among QBs with at least 300 pass attempts in 2024, Rodgers targeted receivers who lined up in the slot the ninth-most often (32.2 percent).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>DeFabo also reminded readers that Pittsburgh has already spent a pre-draft visit on Higgins.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Steelers Must Nail WR Pick If They Trade George Pickens<\/h2>\n<p>It goes without saying, but the Steelers cannot afford to miss on a wide receiver selection if they elect to trade away Pickens in 2025 \u2014\u00a0especially if they sign Rodgers up for a win-now campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Metcalf alone won\u2019t get Pittsburgh back to a Super Bowl, and there\u2019s no telling if\u00a0Roman Wilson will figure things out in year two. That means a Pickens trade could set the Steelers back to square one at wide receiver if they get it wrong.<\/p>\n<p>If they get it right, and DeFabo does lay out a very well-thought-out plan above, it\u2019s probably the wise decision.<\/p>\n<p>Pickens\u2019 Steelers tenure has been filled with controversy and after the Metcalf deal, the writing is on the wall that they do not plan to extend him. With that in mind, it could be smarter to get out now and recoup maximum value while you still can.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty Will the Pittsburgh Steelers trade star wide receiver George Pickens during the 2025 NFL Draft? The\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0have a history of trading away their wide receiver draft&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: Steelers Trade Pitch Ships Away George Pickens for New WR.. - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=36537\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Steelers Trade Pitch Ships Away George Pickens for New WR.. - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getty Will the Pittsburgh Steelers trade star wide receiver George Pickens during the 2025 NFL Draft? 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