Pickens will try to buck trend of Steelers WRs who fail to produce after leaving

A trade that sent flashy wide receiver George Pickens from the Pittsburgh Steelers to Dallas earlier in May shook the NFL landscape, giving the Cowboys a much-needed second weapon behind CeeDee Lamb for Dak Prescott and the passing offence.

Back in April, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones hinted the club was working on "substantive trades" involving players that could be completed before or after the NFL draft.

He made true on his word by shipping out a 2026 third-round draft pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick for Pickens and a 2027 sixth-round pick.

The problem now faced by the Cowboys and Pickens: Wide receivers drafted by the Steelers have a long track record of struggling to produce outside of Pittsburgh.

Most receivers saw their production drop off by at least 20 per cent, in terms of yardage per game - with some taking a much steeper decline.

There are different reasons for why each player's production fell off - including old age - but head coach Mike Tomlin has cultivated a reputation for keeping volatile wide receivers in line while playing for Pittsburgh and then having those receivers blow up when they leave.

The most famous example, of course, would be Antonio Brown, who built a Hall of Fame-calibre resume in Pittsburgh over nine seasons. He was selected to seven Pro Bowls, named first-team All-Pro four times and led the league in receiving yardage twice and touchdowns once.

Some of the mercurial star's antics after leaving Pittsburgh included a showdown with police at his home, a suspension for a heated exchange with then-Las Vegas Raiders GM Mike Mayock and undressing and walking off the field during his final game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Diontae Johnson was jettisoned out of Pittsburgh last offseason after a contract dispute before he was traded three times during the season and was suspended by the Baltimore Ravens for refusing to enter a game.

And Martavis Bryant, who played a short career with the Steelers after being selected in the fourth round in the 2014 NFL Draft, was suspended for the 2016 season for substance abuse before being suspended indefinitely again two years later for the same reason.

All this is to say that the Steelers have generally gotten out at the right time, so to speak, with regards to moving on from wide receivers who may become problematic to a locker room.

And that shadow looms over the Cowboys with Pickens, who has a history of volatile behaviour since being selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

He missed three games in 2024 because of a hamstring strain and had a number of on-field incidents. Pickens was flagged twice for unsportsmanlike conduct in a Week 13 win against the Cincinnati Bengals. A week earlier, he was involved in a scuffle with Cleveland Browns cornerback Greg Newsome II during a Hail Mary attempt.

"He's just got to grow up, man," Tomlin said after the win over the Bengals. "This is an emotional game, man. These divisional games are big. He's got a target on his back because he's George; he understands that. But he's got to grow up. He's got to grow up in a hurry."

Tomlin also reiterated that stance in his end-of-season news conference a month later.

"There's certainly obviously more room for growth there," Tomlin said in January. "I think he covered some ground in 2024, but there's certainly a heck of a lot more ground to be covered, and we'll see where it leaves us."

Pickens has a chance to give the Cowboys a second impactful receiving option they coveted this offseason, but history shows there may be roadblocks to overcome for first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer.