Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones followed through on his offseason promise of “substantive trades,” with his team sending a 2026 third-round draft choice and a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for wide receiver George Pickens.
The Cowboys also added a future sixth-rounder in the swap.
Before the NFL draft, Jones promised fans that he was pursuing at least two deals to improve a team that finished 7-10 last season.
Pickens, who caught 59 passes for 900 yards during his third and final season as a Steeler, qualifies as a substantive add for Dallas. Pickens led the league by averaging 18.1 yards per catch in 2023 and has 174 receptions for 2,841 yards and 12 scores in 48 games.
The Cowboys were widely tied to a handful of wide receiver prospects in last month’s NFL draft but left the event without a rookie wideout.
Several NFL insiders reported that Jones would’ve selected Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan with the 12th pick in the draft, but the Carolina Panthers added him at No. 8 overall.
Pickens, 24, became expendable in Pittsburgh this offseason after the Steelers added two-time Pro Bowler DK Metcalf through a trade with the Seattle Seahawks. Pickens is about to enter the final year of the rookie deal he signed in 2022 when the Steelers took the former Georgia star in the second round. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Pickens has spent his first three seasons in the NFL being equal parts productive and petulant, mixing highlight-reel catches with bouts of immaturity along the way.
Throughout last season, Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin alluded to concerns about Pickens’ maturity. The 24-year-old received a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals and engaged in on-field scuffles against the Cleveland Browns and Washington Commanders.
“He’s just got to grow up, man,” Tomlin said after the Steelers’ 44-38 victory at Cincinnati in Week 13.
Pickens joins a Cowboys wide receiver room that features three-time All-Pro Ceedee Lamb, who recorded 101 catches for 1,194 yards last season. Dallas’ second-leading pass catcher behind Lamb last year was tight end Jake Ferguson, with Jalen Tolbert’s modest 49 receptions a distant third.
This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.
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