Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens was tipped to be a surprise trade candidate, with NFL insider Dianna Russini noting she was “keeping an eye on” as the trade deadline approached. Amid the Davante Adams trade rumors, Russini believes several other wide receivers will be moved and points to Pickens as someone who could be traded.

It makes little sense for the Steelers to trade Pickens unless there is some underlying, baffling reason that comes to light. Pickens is enjoying the best season of his career in his third year. With his first 100-yard performance of the season, Pickens has taken his game to the next level and is on pace for his second consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season.

He has 20 receptions for 284 yards despite not yet finding the end zone. However, Pickens wins across the board, and of those 20 balls, nine of them were explosive plays that he and Justin Fields executed with precision.

Pickens is the alpha, the true No. 1 wide receiver the Steelers have been looking for following the departure of Antonio Brown in 2019. They’ll have to pay him next offseason, which is another issue to break down, but the Steelers appear to want to add another wide receiver to pair with Pickens and drive the offense rather than shutting him down to exchange.

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