George Pickens is the talk of the town, and as the offseason gets underway for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team’s future with their most controversial player will garner a lot of discussion. 

In his third NFL season, Pickens caught 59 passes for 900 yards in 14 regular season games. His 15.3 yards per reception and three touchdowns were both career lows — albeit by the thinnest of margins — but he was still one of the few true threats on a muted Pittsburgh offense. 

Despite that, Pickens is a very polarizing player. Some of his attitude and character issues have given him a very bad reputation with sections of the Steelers fan base and a majority of the media. Some of that criticism is exaggerated and overdone, but Pickens has definitely earned some of the negative headlines printed on him, which has ramped up trade talks as the Georgia product enters the final year of his rookie contract with the Steelers. 

But despite his issues, the Steelers absolutely should not trade him. 

In an offense devoid of top-end talent last season, Pickens was the only player to truly put fear into opposing defenses — when he was mentally involved in the game, of course. 

Pickens had 247 more receiving yards than the second-highest player on the team, tight end Pat Freiermuth, and 352 more receiving yards than the second-place wide receiver, Calvin Austin. No other wide receiver had more than 300 yards through the air, and only one other player — running back Jaylen Warren — eclipsed that mark. 

Aside from Mike Williams, who the team acquired at the trade deadline and then inexplicably refused to deploy in any meaningful way, Pickens was the Steelers’ only true deep ball threat. He fit into the repertoire that Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin hoped to unlock when he benched Justin Fields in favor of Russell Wilson. 

Showing the offenses in the conference championship games to the Steelers is like showing a flying car to a caveman. The key to giving Pittsburgh a competitive chance in 2025 is adding several talented players on offense. That task gets a lot harder when you start by handing away your best one right now. 

And, oh boy, if you thought this wide receiver room was bad, even with Pickens leading the charge, imagine it without him. The Steelers got a glimpse of that scary sight when Pickens was injured for three weeks. During that time, the Steelers averaged 19 points per game, a 3.4 drop from their season average, and 248.3 yards per game, a full 71.1 yards less than their average output. Wilson’s 225.6 passing yards per game fell to 167.7 without Pickens. 

If the Steelers choose to get rid of Pickens, they would need to add at least two new wideouts, and possibly even a third depending on the front office’s confidence in Austin moving forward. 

While there are avenues to bring in several big names, the Steelers aren’t the only team fighting to improve their wide receiver depth chart. Tee Higgins headlines a free agent crop that does provide a decent amount of options, but how likely are they to nab one big-name wide receiver, let alone two? 

They could also go the draft route. Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka is often tied to the Steelers in mock drafts, but with so many pressing needs on both sides of the ball, the Steelers taking a wide receiver in the first round — something they haven’t done since taking Santonio Holmes 25th overall in 2006 — is far from certain. 

There’s a growing belief that the Steelers could instead target a cornerback or invest more in the trenches with their first-rounder, leaving their later picks for wide receivers and putting more pressure on the shoulders of lower-level picks to get the job done. 

The honeymoon phase is over for general manager Omar Khan, and how he handled the wide receiver room last season doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in his abilities to figure it out this year. 

Last offseason, when Khan traded away wide receiver Diontae Johnson for similar character and composure concerns, the Steelers were unsuccessful in bringing in any viable replacement. Khan heavily pursued Brandon Aiyuk out of San Francisco, but that avenue closed when Aiyuk used the Steelers’ offer as leverage, and Khan could not find anyone to pair alongside Pickens. 

The Steelers got back Donte Jackson and a late-round pick swap in the trade with Carolina, and while the cornerback did notch five interceptions, he routinely struggled in pass coverage. It’s hard to argue that Khan got proper value back relative to how integral Johnson was to Pittsburgh’s offense. 

In the case of Pickens, his end-of-season performance definitely tanked some of his value. After an underwhelming return from injury against Kansas City, he suffered three drops in the regular season finale against Cincinnati, where he argued with fans and had to have several of his teammates intervene to keep him engaged in the game. 

If Pickens’ antics and personality are truly as radioactive as some portray it, the Steelers would not get true market value for him. Why would the Steelers sell so low, especially when dealing from a position of need? 

Pickens is entering a contract year. If he wants to capitalize on his superhuman talents, he must show more composure and professionalism to earn every cent possible, even if the team offering him his next deal is not the Steelers. 

Pickens may have no loyalty to the Steelers, but it’s in his best interest to show up, ball out and change the narrative around him in the last year of his rookie deal. If he doesn’t, it could cost him millions. 

It offers a chance for Pickens to skyrocket his market value, and the Steelers would benefit from having his services for at least one more year. 

Betting on Pickens is better than accepting a mid-round pick for your most important weapon.