Steelers, George Pickens in for hectic night of trade rumors during NFL Draft

Billy Heyen

Steelers, George Pickens in for hectic night of trade rumors during NFL Draft image

The Pittsburgh Steelers traded a second-round pick for a wide receiver.

They may now be looking to trade a wide receiver for a second-round pick.

The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported that the Steelers are taking calls on Pickens as of Friday afternoon.

Pittsburgh traded its 2025 second-round pick to the Seahawks for DK Metcalf.

Because of that, the Steelers' next selection after No. 21 in the first round is No. 83 in the third round.

If they're interested in Shedeur Sanders or another QB, a move up might be in order.

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Pickens is a great tandem partner for Metcalf, but Pittsburgh might decide it needs to try and fill a different positional need rather than having surplus at wideout.

The Steelers have added incentive to trade Pickens due to his contract. They already paid Metcalf big money and are unlikely to do the same with Pickens.

Given that, dealing Pickens now for solid value and not getting locked in to a big money deal with him long term might be the best the Steelers can do.

If it also lands them a potential franchise QB, even better.

Whether a team would trade a second-round pick for Pickens knowing a big extension is looming is less certain.

But based on the report, the Steelers' phones are ringing. Stay tuned.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle