Pickens over DK this week.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!

 

He became a 3rd and a 5th in the trade. Have to wait and see who those picks turn into, but could end up better than a 3rd round comp.


I liked GP at Georgia. If we were taking a WR, he was the one I wanted to draft. I was very excited when we got him. I was also disappointed with his 'other stuff' while he was here. Today, we are worse off without him. Doesn't mean it will always be that way. That 2026 3rd from Dallas might become something better. And longer lasting.

 

Right now, he is among the top four or five receivers in the NFL. There is a good argument to be made that only Smith-Njigba has been better this season. That would have to be one hell of a third-round pick.

 

For this season. Tomorrow is not promised.

 

I can't disagree with that argument. This team doesn't succeed based on clever schemes or play calling, it lives off opponent mistakes and raw talent making a play. There wouldn't have been a creative scheme for Pickens or Metcalf, but their talent could make plays. Maybe Pickens helps you win one of these games. Maybe not.

This is just a bad organization right now that refuses to address the real cancer, namely the fraudulent head coach.

 

Any player could step funny and rupture an Achilles or blow out his knee tomorrow, but that makes a poor argument.

 

Just having him on 50-50 balls alone might have been enough against the Bengals (the first time) and Bears. Yes, I know they scored quite a bit in both games, but they also left points on the field and he easily could have made the difference.

 

Not sure if you remember this guy or not. We had a WR named Chase Claypool, or something like that. Anyway, he was smoking hot for us his rookie season. Then a big bunch of nothing. And he didn't really have any of the on field quirks that GP has displayed with plays off and collecting penalty yards.
I'm not talking about injuries. I'm referring to the between the ears part of the game. GP has shown very little self discipline. Maybe he's a T.O. or Steve Smith type that can walk that line.

 

Pickens has been solid for 4 years straight.. the only thing that was holding him back was our anemic offense with worthless QBs.. he's not a flash in the pan like claypool.

 

I tend to agree.

 

Pickens has steadily gotten better despite those issues and unlike his time in Pittsburgh, he seems happy in Dallas. His numbers were down slightly last season due to the injury, but his trajectory is vastly different from that of Claypool. He also has more diverse skills. He is more athletic, has better hands, and is arguably the best in the league at combat catches, which was a massive weakness for Claypool.

 

That wasn't the only thing holding him back. He was not making a consistent effort. Is that because this is a contract year? Maybe. Or maybe he likes that he has finally arrived as an elite player and is ready to stay at that level.

 

I dunno, do players really act up on good teams?

 

We agree on what you say here. I was clarifying my words from before. There is no guarantee GP will continue to get better. He may never 'grow up', and may even become more AB-like. You took me saying tomorrow is not promised as an injury thing only, by your response. Guys with all the ability in the world fail all the time. Not always, but it happens.
I'm more worried about Roman Wilson. I understand he was on IR last year, but he's fully back from that. He's 2 seasons in on the same playbook now, but can't seem to get into the flow of the offense. That is more worrisome to me.

 

Not sure if someone brought this up yet, but Pickens has 1044 receiving yards so far this season, Steelers wr room has 1009.

 

YES

 

Well AB and Claypool come to mind... Common denominator, a Tomlin coached team

 

You know what happens in the real world when you're frequently late your employer will get rid of you. Imagine thinking the media is on it just to smear Pickens they talked about it when he was still on the team.

 

I really don't think Steelers would run the offense any differently even if Pickens had stayed.

That is why Pickens wanted to leave, and good for Pickens. Imagine how many millions of $s Pickens would have lost had he stayed with the Steelers?

Pickens' career trajectory was gonna go down the toilet had he stayed with Steelers. Now he's shooting up to the stars.

 

The 90s Cowboys says hi

 

Of course, he's happy look at their QB situation compared to the Steelers.

 

Most importantly, he's playing with a no.1 receiver and more of a liberal playbook, that opens up more of the field for him... Something he never had here

 

Like I said, the Steelers did a good job selling a story and quite a few folks here were suckered into believing it!

 

If we could have gotten a better return, I could see the argument here.

But we got a 3rd next draft and a late round pick swap for the following year. So not much value IMO.

If we keep him, we have a much better offense now IMO. And he would likely have returned a 3rd or 4th as a comp pick since WRs cost so much in UFA.

Or if we decide to trade him, we have to commit to getting a 2nd starting WR. I generally think that Kahn has been a good GM on net. But making the same (unforced?) error at WR two years in a row isn't great.