The Pittsburgh Steelers chose to move on from George Pickens before the 2025 NFL season.
He was sent to the Dallas Cowboys, where he had a career year.
Coming back to the Steelers in the deal were a pair of draft picks: a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick.
It'll be a year before we know the second piece of that specifically, but with the end of the regular season and the Cowboys missing the playoffs, we know the 2026 spot.
The Steelers will draft No. 76 overall in the third round as part of the Pickens deal. That's where Dallas would've slotted without making the trade.
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It's not a bad spot. Usually the first three rounds feature players who can start right away or in pretty short order.
It'll be one more chance for the Steelers to add youth to a roster that features a lot of veterans.
Of course, the question always becomes whether a deal is worth it, and we won't know that until years down the line when the players the Steelers actually draft with those picks develop, or don't develop.
Pickens was entering the last year of his contract, which is part of the reason Pittsburgh traded him, in addition to being tired of some of his behaviors.
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If the Steelers didn't plan on re-signing Pickens, then giving him up for future assets wasn't a bad move.
It still would've been interesting to see what a Pickens combination with DK Metcalf would've looked like, but it's too late now.
The Steelers will just have to make the most of these picks.
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