Steelers' Trade Of George Pickens Hints That AFC Foe Could Have Absolutely Ruined Pittsburgh's 3rd-Round Draft Plans

The Pittsburgh Steelers shocked the NFL world yet again on Wednesday morning when the decision was made to trade wide receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. It was always a possibility that the team would move on from the sometimes-disgruntled play-maker, but that has officially become a reality. It will be interesting to see how the organization approaches the wide receiving corps in 2025, especially because the decision to deal Pickens puts the offense right back in the same place as it was in 2024. On top of that, General Manager Omar Khan made the decision to not draft a wideout.

The fact that the Steelers passed on selecting a wide receiver in the 2025 NFL Draft will certainly earn Khan some much-warranted criticism. With that said, nothing ever goes perfectly with 31 other teams also looking to get better throughout the course of the draft weekend. It's certainly possible that Pittsburgh wanted to take a pass-catcher, but the organization only hosted four on Top 30 visits, which typically signals the prospects that the franchise is most interested in.

It was a known fact that Khan and co. were going to take a running back, and that occurred with the 83rd overall pick that came in the third round when Kaleb Johnston heard his name called. Just a few selections before then, however, a wideout that came to the Steel City for a Top 30 visit was taken by the Houston Texans and General Manager Nick Caserio.

The only two wideouts that took a Top 30 visit to Pittsburgh, who were also available were when the Texans were on the clock, were Jaylin Noel and Savion Williams. Noel ended up being the selection, which means the Steelers could have taken Williams, but ended up going with Johnson. If Noel would have fallen to 83, there is a possibility that he would have been taken instead of Johnson. Unfortunately, hypotheticals won't help the organization now.

It's clear that Pittsburgh wasn't as high on Williams because he was taken with the 87th overall pick, but there is no way to tell if Noel was being eyed up for Pittsburgh's third-round pick. The Steelers could have easily tried to trade Pickens for the Cowboys' third-round pick which was at 76, and that would have opened up the possibility of taking both Noel at 76 and Johnson still at 83.

The possibilities can make a person's head spin, but at the end of the day, no one will ever know if the Steelers would have taken Noel with the 83rd overall selection if he was still on the board at that time. The Texans didn't allow that discussion to happen in Pittsburgh's war room.

At the end of the day, the NFL Draft is unpredictable. It seems impossible to believe that the Steelers weren't already decided on dealing Pickens, but then why wouldn't Khan and the front office take a wide receiver on the second, or even third, day of the draft? This seems like a question that the fan base deserves to get an answer to in the coming months.

Noel would have been a perfect fit alongside DK Metcalf, and the receiving corps would potentially have two legitimate pass-catchers for four years at a minimum. There's no guarantee that Noel will turn into a top-tier wideout, but it sure would feel a lot better following the Pickens trade if there was a rookie to get excited about, although, Roman Wilson still has potential.

Steelers Are Losing Faith From A Frustrated Fan Base 

Pittsburgh doesn't have a long-term answer at quarterback currently, and just traded a very talented wide receiver away. There are still more questions than answers, and one of those pressing concerns is now that the team didn't draft wide receiver, potentially already knowing that Pickens would be gone by the time the summer rolled around. There remains a lot of work to be done in the Steel City.

Do you think the Steelers had their eyes on Noel in the third round before the Texans drafted him? Let us know in the comments below!

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