George Pickens continues to shine under the bright lights. And recently, he showed out in a big way on Monday Night Football, wearing the Dallas Cowboys colors.
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Pickens was the catalyst for a big 33-16 road win for his new team, with his nine receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown pushing Dallas to a 4-5-1 record and giving them the belief they can still maybe sniff the postseason.
For the first time in many moons, Jerry Jones looks like a competent general manager thanks to the Pickens trade he made back in May. In that deal, he shipped third and fifth-round picks to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Pickens and a sixth-rounder. And the more Pickens plays in Big D, the more it’s not just looking like highway robbery, but “one of the worst deals in NFL history” for Pittsburgh. At least, that’s what former Good Morning Football analyst Kay Adams says.
“I think that trading George Pickens is probably going to go down as one of the worst deals in NFL history. And I mean that,” Adams said on her show, Up & Adams.
“I just think it’s true. And the best from a Dallas perspective. Like, what a haul. It is so clear. It is so glaringly obvious watching George Pickens last night—a day after [RB] Kenneth Gainwell led Pittsburgh in receiving against the Bengals!” she added.
The caveat of the Steelers being led in receiving by a running back the day before Pickens goes off for his big MNF display is quite damning. Pittsburgh fans can say that Gainwell’s performance came in a win, but it was over the floundering Bengals. Nothing to get too excited about.
Adams points out correctly that arguably Pittsburgh’s biggest hole this season has been at WR2, where Pickens likely would have slotted in behind offseason addition D.K. Metcalf.
“This is clearly a bad call by the Steelers! I just think so. In a window, of course. They are trying to find any semblance of consistency and rhythm outside of D.K. [Metcalf] in the passing game. It just doesn’t exist. And you’re looking at George out there, looking cool AF… He’s the NFL’s second-leading receiver… George is averaging 91 yards a game. He’s doing it as a vertical threat, he’s doing it with his YAC.”
One of the absolute best NFL voices Kay Adams: “I think the Steelers trading George Pickens is probably going to go down as one of the worst trades in NFL history.” Thoughts?pic.twitter.com/wCUPxHeNcV
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) November 18, 2025
While Pickens has been “unstoppable,” Pittsburgh’s answers at WR behind Metcalf have been decidedly “stoppable.” Calvin Austin III has played just eight games, but even still, his 242 yards rank second among Steelers WRs.
That mark is the sixth-worst for a WR2 in the NFL. The only teams behind Pittsburgh in that respect are the rival Ravens and four teams with no hopes of the postseason: Washington, the Jets, Cleveland, and Atlanta.
The trade looks pretty bad pretty early. Though it is worth noting that the Steelers, at 6-4, do have a better record than Pickens’ Cowboys at 4-5-1. But as Adams said, if the Steelers still had Pickens, they would look like real (and surprise) Super Bowl contenders rather than just another possible playoff team.
And let’s not forget the long list of god-awful NFL trades we have seen over the years that make this one look even-steven.
Herschel Walker, Ricky Williams, and Deshaun Watson? Lest we forget.
