George Pickens and the Pittsburgh Steelers have had a love-hate relationship since he got selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. On one hand, Pickens is their No. 1 receiver by a large margin and possibly the most talented player on their offense. However, on the flip side, his bothersome antics on and off the field seem to cause the Steelers quite the headache, causing the rumor mill of trade destinations to heat up ahead of the 2025 NFL offseason.
Coming into the draft, this was something all 32 teams were aware of. He’s a player with tantalizing talent, yet, he can go off the rails at any moment.
That’s especially true when Pittsburgh go up against an AFC North team, as their divisional rivals have seemingly picked up on Picknes’ tendencies.
Over his time as the Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin has led many players with a slew of different personalities. He even got Antonio Brown to act right enough of the time.
Since being drafted in 2022, the Steelers’ receiver has accumulated 174 receptions, 2,841 yards, and 12 touchdowns, showing that he’s capable of being a true No. 1 receiver in the NFL.
The most impressive part of Pickens’ game is his ability to make highlight-reel catches consistently.
However, with the Steelers heading into the 2025 NFL offseason, Pickens could be a potential trade target with these five teams being the best landing spots for the 23-year-old receiver.
Going into the 2025 NFL offseason, the New England Patriots are a team that desperately needs an alpha-type receiver.
In 2024, their leading receiver was Hunter Henry, who hauled in 66 passes for 674 yards and two touchdowns.
If — for some reason — that seems low, it’s because it is.
In 2024, the Patriots were the worst passing offense in the NFL, averaging just 176.1 yards per game, per ESPN.
Now, it’s partially fair given the dual-quarterback experiment with Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye, but it’s clear that the Patriots are far from their early-to-mid 2000s days.
Although he didn’t start until Week 6, Maye is a talented quarterback, which is why the Patriots drafted him with the No. 3 pick in 2024.
However, given Jerod Mayo’s lackluster coaching that resulted in him being fired after just one season, the lack of offensive linemen, and the lack of pass-catching weapons, Maye was set up to fail in his first year.
But, after hiring Mike Vrabel, New England appears to be ready to fight, and trading for Pickens could be a good move to give Maye a reliable weapon in 2025.
George Pickens trade destination No. 4: Washington Commanders
With an offense featuring Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin, the Washington Commanders could be an interesting team to take a chance on the Steelers’ receiver.
Although their offense ranked fifth in scoring across the league (28.5 points per game), their passing offense wasn’t nearly as effective.
Throughout the 2024 regular season, Daniels and the Commanders’ offense ranked 17th with 215.6 passing yards per game. These aren’t bad numbers under a rookie quarterback on a team with the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
However, with McLaurin being the team’s main target in the passing game, they could use another receiver, especially a walking highlight reel like Pickens.
The Commanders saw a lot of deep-ball connections between Daniels and McLaurin, and as a vertical threat receiver, he could pair well with Kliff Kingsbury’s offense in Washington.
Pickens likely wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg to trade for given his unpredictable behavior, making a trade between Washington and Pittsburgh possible.
George Pickens trade destination No. 3: Kansas City Chiefs
In seemingly every rumor regarding a receiver trade, the Kansas City Chiefs are one of the top landing spots each time.
It makes sense with Patrick Mahomes as quarterback.
Now, going into the 2025 NFL offseason, the Chiefs don’t necessarily need a receiver.
DeAndre Hopkins could become a free agent following Super Bowl LIX, leaving the Chiefs with a top three of Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown, and Rashee Rice.
However, with Rice potentially facing legal issues in the upcoming season, the Chiefs could try getting Mahomes another weapon.
Now, while the Chiefs would be a good landing spot for Pickens, there’s nothing really proving that the Chiefs would want to put up with Pickens’ nonsense.
As a team that seems to find success offensively with or without talented pass-catchers, Pickens could cause more of a headache than he’s worth trading for.
But, in the same vein, the idea of watching Mahomes chuck deep shots to Pickens and watching him make an acrobatic catch seems like something that Andy Reid could get excited about.
And the Chiefs have already traded for controversial receivers in the past, e.g., Kadarius Toney.
He didn’t necessarily work out for the team, and Kansas City could’ve learned from that lesson.
George Pickens trade destination No. 2: Las Vegas Raiders
One of the less obvious trade destinations for Pickens would be the Las Vegas Raiders.
It’s not a team that many would peg as the clear-cut choice for Pickens, but they’re a team that could be in the Pickens sweepstakes, per Chris Adamski.
“I think there’s a chance that a team like the Raiders – the Raiders actually make a lot of sense – comes in and just makes an offer they can’t refuse,” Adamski said. “Or it gets leaked out there in the spring, [and people start calling], ‘Is George available?’ Just put that flier out there and see if those teams make them a high-draft pick offer that you almost have to take.”
With Tom Brady in the building for the Raiders now, there’s a possibility that his presence will make a major difference in how this team operates moving forward.
Now, the Raiders don’t have an ideal quarterback situation, which could cause issues down the road for Pickens. But, if they can address that position with a strong, veteran presence — like a Jameis Winston, Kirk Cousins, or even Sam Darnold — there’s a possibility it could work.
Given their draft pick and the class of quarterbacks in 2025, it’s not super likely that Las Vegas will end up with a franchise quarterback in this upcoming offseason, but options are available.
After seeing Brock Bowers’ rookie season, it shows that this team can have success through the air offensively.
So, adding a receiver like Pickens in the offseason could be a great move for the Raiders if they can pull it off and keep him happy.
George Pickens trade destination No. 1: Buffalo Bills
The final trade destination for Pickens is the Buffalo Bills.
Having dealt with Stefon Diggs in the past, Sean McDermott and the Bills showed they could handle receivers with attitude.
And with Pickens, they’d be getting another Diggs-esque receiver: a highly talented receiver who comes with baggage.
Now, Pickens’ baggage could be more detrimental to the team because his problems usually get met with 15-yard penalties.
With Diggs, most of the problems seemed internal, as it appeared that he would throw tantrums for not getting the ball enough.
Pickens isn’t clear of presenting that type of behavior, but most of his antics involve being a bit too rough with opponents or just making silly mistakes.
So, with either receiver, there’s baggage.
But, with Josh Allen and the Bills relying on Khalil Shakir as their No. 1 option, they need a true alpha in the receiver room.
Aside from Amari Cooper — who could hit free agency after the Bills traded for him midseason in 2024 — Allen doesn’t really have that reliable target.
Keon Coleman showed promise as a rookie, but he didn’t necessarily showcase elite traits in his first season.
And even without a true No. 1 target, Allen was near the top of MVP voting.
So, heading into the 2025 NFL offseason, the Bills would be the best landing spot for the Steelers’ receiver if they end up trading him.
