With the NFL Draft just one day away, the Green Bay Packers reportedly are interested in one of the NFL’s most talented receivers.
It’s a tale as old as time. The Green Bay Packers need a receiver and are deemed a potential landing spot for one.
According to Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz, Pittsburgh Steelers star George Pickens is a player to watch as the countdown to the 2025 NFL Draft approaches.
“Pittsburgh has taken and made calls on the talented WR, who’s now extension-eligible,” Schultz wrote. “After paying (DK) Metcalf, league sources are skeptical the Steelers will pay two receivers.”
The Packers, of course, were interested in acquiring Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks. Instead, the Steelers sent second- and seventh-round picks to Seattle in exchange for Metcalf and a sixth-round pick.
After the trade, Pittsburgh signed Metcalf to a four-year contract extension worth $132 million. Pickens, meanwhile, is entering his final season under his rookie contract.
“It’s just not in their DNA to spend that much on two wideouts,” an AFC general manager told Schultz. “Pickens is more available than people think. Green Bay’s been serious, and they’re not the only ones.”
However, on Tuesday, Steelers GM Omar Khan said Pickens was not on the trade block.
“No, I mean, we’re glad we have George and DK here. I think they’re going to be exciting for everyone to watch. I’m excited to have DK here, but now I’m going to answer your question,” Khan said.
That echoed what he said at the owners meetings in March.
“You need more than one receiver in this league,” Khan said.
The Packers were linked to Metcalf, Davante Adams and Cooper Kupp this offseason but didn’t land any of them. They are expected to use a premium pick on a receiver this week, whether it’s a first-round pick or their typical second-round sweet spot.
Green Bay’s interest – if legit – would be logical. Christian Watson, who is the team’s premier deep threat, will miss part of the season with a torn ACL. Romeo Doubs, who is coming off a season including two concussions and one suspension, doesn’t have a 700-yard season on his resume. As second-year players, Dontayvion Wicks had the second-highest drop rate and fifth-lowest yards per target, and Jayden Reed had the third-highest drop rate and disappeared down the stretch.
Moreover, Watson and Doubs will be free agents next offseason.
In the 2022 draft, following the trade of Davante Adams to the Raiders, the Packers traded up to select Watson at No. 34 overall. Pickens went to the Steelers at No. 52.
Pickens is a stud player. In three seasons, he has 174 receptions for 2,841 yards (16.3 average) and 12 touchdowns. In 17 games in 2023, he caught 63 passes for 1,140 yards and an NFL-high 18.1 yards per catch. In 2024, he caught 59 passes for 900 yards.
Pickens would give the Packers a badly needed deep threat. Last year with Justin Fields and Russell Wilson at quarterback, he caught 15-of-29 deep passes for 515 yards. He dropped nine passes; his 13.2 percent drop rate being ninth-worst in the NFL. During his first two seasons, though, he dropped only seven passes.
Pickens comes with baggage, though, and seems a potentially poor fit for Green Bay’s carefully constructed locker room. In a late-season win over the Bengals, he was flagged twice for unsportsmanlike conduct.
“He’s just got to grow up man,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said after the game. “It’s an emotional game. These divisional games are big. He’s got a target on his back because he’s George. He understands that, but he’s got to grow up and he’s got to grow up in a hurry.”
Wilson echoed what Tomlin said about being watched because of his reputation.
“It’s passion, and so sometimes that takes over and I think that just being able to balance it, I thought he did a great job responding,” Wilson said after the game. “And I just think that you just got to understand that when you’re at one of the best receivers in the world, everybody’s going to have their eyes on you, and just you got to understand that just to stay neutral, stay poised in those moments and still bring excitement. Don’t change that but just understand that.
“I was telling him on the sideline when you’re one of the best in the world, you expect to make those plays, and you don’t need to do anything extra necessarily. … He’s learning it as we go. He’s got to be smarter, too, though, and he’s going to do that.”
A few weeks later, he showed up after Tomlin’s requested arrival time for the Christmas game against the Chiefs.
“If you gonna be a cancer, you got to go,” former Steelers lineman Kendall Simmons said on the Joba and the Mouth Show. “To me, it’s that simple. George, he has to own things and stuff that he like and he don’t like. But he has a superstar ability, I really do believe that. It’s just the off-the-field stuff that is going to keep him from being All-Pro.”
In October, though, Wilson raved about Pickens’ growth.
“First of all, this guy is an absolute rock star,” Wilson said on The Jim Rome Show. “He’s a superstar on the field, all the things he can do. He’s just got such amazing talent. ‘God’s given you amazing talent. Use it all.’ And also too, understanding that you’re not focused on anything outside, just be focused on the moment.”
The Packers are scheduled to play at the Steelers this season.