As the draft progressed two weeks ago, Omar Khan took calls from teams asking about George Pickens.
It wasn’t until 11 days after the draft ended, though, that Khan heard an offer appealing enough to accept.
“It sort of happened quickly,” the Pittsburgh Steelers general manager said Friday in regards to the trade of George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys that went down two days prior. “We had some (other teams) inquire during the draft, (but it was) nothing that really made sense. The Cowboys reached out (earlier this week), and they proposed something for us to think about.
“This trade made sense for everyone.”
It made sense to the Cowboys to bring in a high-end No. 2 wide receiver in the talented Pickens. It made sense to Pickens, at least if what his agent, Dave Mulugheta, said in conversations with Khan this week.
And it made sense to the Steelers in getting a third-round pick in what is expected to be a draft flush with talent in 2026.
“We had conversations internally,” Khan said. “We discussed where things have been with George, where they are, and where things could go with George.
“We just felt it was a time for a fresh start.”
Steelers GM Omar Khan explains how the trade of George Pickens came together pic.twitter.com/pGluHaXJea
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) May 9, 2025
The Steelers also earned a slight upgrade in late-round 2027 picks in the swap. But it leaves them without an obvious No. 2 wide receiver to complement newly-acquired veteran DK Metcalf.
In that sense, it’s easy to draw parallels to last year, when after a spring trade of Diontae Johnson the Steelers had no obvious, high-end starting receiver opposite Pickens. Khan during last year’s training camp was rather open about his desire to acquire one — remember Brandon Aiyuk Watch? — but nothing ever materialized until the Week 9 trade deadline when the Steelers picked up Mike Williams.
“I know people make the comparison (of the WR corps similar to) last year,” Khan said. “It’s not even close to being the same.”
As Khan sees it, the Steelers’ existing wide receivers corps is deep enough to withstand the departure of Pickens. Also, as he put it: “There’s lot of time between now and the start of the season.”
That would imply that the likes of veteran free agents remaining such as Keenan Allen, Gabe Davis or Amari Cooper could appeal to the Steelers. Allen Lazard is thought to be on the trade market.
“I’ll say this, if there’s an opportunity to add a playmaker on offense — regardless of whether it’s a receiver or wherever it is — we’re gonna look into it,” Khan said. “And if it makes sense, it makes sense. There’s always good players available.
“If we wanted to add some people, we could, but we feel comfortable with (the current Steelers receivers).”
Aside from Metcalf, who is signed for the next five years and $150 million, the Steelers added veteran Robert Woods and bring back Calvin Austin III. Khan said he’s “liked what he’s seen” from Roman Wilson, a third-round pick last year who was limited to one game because of multiple injuries.
“There’s some excitement there,” Khan said of Wilson.
“We wouldn’t have done this (Pickens trade),” Khan added, “if we didn’t feel good about the receiver situation, about our depth here.”
Still, Khan insisted he was not aggressively trying to trade Pickens. His camp, Khan said, did not request a trade. There was no indication a contract extension — Pickens is entering the final year of his rookie deal — was or was not imminent.
Omar Khan, when asked if the spate of trades of WRs by the team might change how they evaluate and draft/acquire the position pic.twitter.com/Rux3UDi0vh
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) May 9, 2025
While Pickens’ on- and off-field ancillary antics were well-documented, Khan said there was no proverbial “final straw” that forced the team’s hand in getting rid of him.
The Pickens trade was the third in Khan’s three years as general manager that involved the swap of a starting wide receiver. In each case — Pickens, Chase Claypool to Chicago in 2022 and Johnson to Carolina last year — there were acknowledged questions about the intangibles of the player shipped out. Khan, though, does not believe the Steelers need to evaluate the way they target and acquire talent at receiver.
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“Some of that’s just really coincidence, how it’s played out with the position,” he said. “…But we want to get good players, good people, and you know we’re chasing a championship and every decision we make is based on trying to win a championship not only in the future but this year.
“I know there’s a lot of questions about different things, but there’s lot of time between now and the start of the season, and rest assured we’re trying to win a championship this year”