After the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver was shipped off to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a third round pick, operators began scrambling for new odds in the NFC.
For the majority of the NFL offseason in 2025, rumors have been swirling of what the Pittsburgh Steelers planned to do with 24-year-old wide receiver George Pickens, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract and will be seeking an extension by this time next year.
Typically, franchises would prefer to retain a young wideout who has already produced a 1,000-yard campaign in his brief career, but the Steelers also sent a second round pick to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for fellow wide receiver DK Metcalf in March, and followed the decision by handing Metcalf a $150m contract. After terms of the Metcalf trade were announced, many sources around the league expected Pittsburgh to move on from Pickens prior to the 2025 NFL Draft to regain draft capital lost to Seattle, only to witness the Draft take place with no trades announced on the Steelers’ end.
On the morning of May 7, however, it was finally announced that Pickens was being traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a 2026 third round draft selection, as well as additional capital set for day three of the draft. The transaction was seen as a necessity on the part of Dallas, having been on the lookout for a wide receiver complement to CeeDee Lamb, who has performed as one of the NFL’s best wideouts in the past three seasons.
After losing co-stars such as Amari Cooper and Brandin Cooks to trade or free agency, Lamb needed a secondary weapon to help ensure he is not seeing double teams from safeties over the top, as defenses will now need to respect the talent of Pickens on the other side of the field. Whether Dallas will end up being the franchise which signs Pickens to a long-term extension remains to be seen, as the Cowboys also need to pay Micah Parsons, one of if not the best defender in all football, who happens to share the same agent as Pickens.
The trade most likely has higher ramifications for Pittsburgh, given the franchise was still without a quarterback even prior to Pickens departing the team, seemingly waiting on the decision of veteran Aaron Rodgers which could come at any time. Left with just Metcalf, Robert Woods, Calvin Austin and Roman Wilson in the wide receiver room, Rodgers may feel less inclined to join the Steelers if the offense features less talent than previously thought.
Pittsburgh drafted running back Kaleb Johnson in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft to complement fourth-year back Jaylen Warren, who came into the offseason as a restricted free agent but was given a second-round tender offer. With offensive coordinator Arthur Smith calling plays once again, it can be expected Pittsburgh will run the ball a vast majority of the time, especially if Rodgers chooses not to join the Steelers and the franchise is left with Mason Rudolph or rookie Will Howard taking snaps.
According to operators such as bet365, however, there seems to still be some belief the Steelers will be a Playoff contender this season, holding odds of +500 to win the AFC North division despite falling short of the talent offered by the Baltimore Ravens or Cincinnati Bengals. The franchise is just +145 to qualify for the postseason in 2025-2026, which is still favorable given the current situation of its quarterback room, as well as having just traded one of its best offensive weapons.
Competing against the likes of Baltimore and Cincinnati will be no picnic, though, as the Pittsurgh defense may need to reach an even higher level of play to overcome the obstacles sure to be faced on the offensive side of the ball. The Bengals failed to reach the postseason last year unlike Pittsburgh, but will still feature an offense that includes Joe Burrow, JaMarr Chase and Tee Higgins, as well as a defense that almost has to be improved given how terrible the unit played throughout 2024-2025. Whether the Steelers have a plan of action in place to counteract the loss of Pickens still hangs in the air, but Pittsburgh clearly felt swapping Metcalf for Pickens was a positive transaction for the franchise.
Dallas, even with Pickens on the roster now, is not given the same level of confidence as Pittsburgh despite featuring what could easily be described as a more talented roster, most likely due to the amount of changes witnessed by the franchise this offseason. Standout defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence left via free agency, while offensive guard Zack Martin chose to retire in lieu of continuing his NFL career.
Not only that, head coach Mike McCarthy was not re-signed following the end of his contract, leading to Brian Schottenheimer getting named as the next head coach of the franchise. The move was seen as quite lateral from those around the league, given that Schottenheimer was mainly a branch of McCarthy’s offensive play calling and never seen as a coordinator who fully controlled his side of the ball. Still, the mix-up could be what Dallas needs to finally return to Playoff prominence, having managed just one postseason victory since 2018.
On bet365, the Cowboys are listed at +210 to reach the postseason in 2025-2026, as well as +700 behind both the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders to win the NFC East division this season. As the reigning Super Bowl champions, it is unlikely Philadelphia relinquishes its hold on the NFC East food chain, but Dallas could still sneak into wild card positioning given the additional Playoff berth added in recent times.
If Pickens can keep his temperament under wraps, having been known to get frustrated when the ball is not thrown his way consistently, the Cowboys offense could certainly reach a new level with perhaps the most dynamic duo of wide receivers in the league. While Dallas has one of the weaker running back rooms in all of football, its offensive line is still as trustworthy as ever, and quarterback Dak Prescott will be making his return from injury in hopes of leading his Cowboys franchise back to the postseason once again.
