This offseason, might the Pittsburgh Steelers make a huge wide receiver trade? Or two, perhaps? The organization may decide to let go of wide receiver George Pickens due to his antics this season, which have seen the incredibly gifted player take over games at times while seriously hurting his team in others.
Pickens has occasionally performed like a top-15 wide receiver, but when he is not playing, it is too detrimental to the club as a whole. Therefore, given that 2025 will be Pickens’ contract year, Pro Football Focus thinks the Steelers may try to move him.
“Pickens will surely look for a compensating payout prior to the start of the following season as he enters a contract year in 2025. The Steelers must decide if they want to give him that responsibility and make a long-term commitment to him. With a career-high 78.0 PFF receiving grade and an average of 2.06 yards per route run in 2024, Pickens has produced at an exceptional level after improving progressively over the course of his three seasons. However, they noted that Pittsburgh might become dubious because to his disputed catch percentages (34.6% from 2023–24 compared to 67.9% in 2022) and character issues.
Pickens has a tremendous amount of talent. When locked in on the field, he is a legitimate number-one wide receiver, but that only occurs so frequently. There are other games, like the one against the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals, where he has little to no effect.
A portion of that can be attributed to the Steelers’ quarterback performance and play calling, which have not prioritized getting him involved early in the game frequently enough. However, with a big contract approaching, the Steelers may be able to dump Pickens to avoid the unpredictability of his play if they are able to sign another elite wide receiver.
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