The Green Bay Packers were surprisingly connected to a George Pickens trade this offseason. As it turns out, they had a better plan all along.
The Pittsburgh Steelers traded Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys, and Packers fans should be thankful for how it played out.
Two teams to listen to about wide receivers? The Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers. They have strong track records for drafting and developing pass-catchers.
One team you should never listen to? The Cowboys. Trading a fourth-rounder for Jonathan Mingo? Yeah, not ideal.
Here's where it gets interesting: Dallas sent a third-rounder to Pittsburgh for Pickens. Despite Green Bay's rumored interest in Pickens, it used its third-round pick to land another wide receiver, TCU's Savion Williams.
It was absolutely the right call.
Packers make the far better investment in using third-round pick on Savion Williams, not George Pickens
Pickens is a proven player. Based on talent alone, he can help any team in the league. Just not a Steelers team pushing to win a Super Bowl with Aaron Rodgers? That tells us a lot.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said last season that Pickens needed to "grow up." Not even six months later, Pittsburgh made a blockbuster deal for DK Metcalf and traded Pickens to Dallas. Again, we should listen to the Steelers.
The Packers went with Williams, who is a boom-or-bust prospect.
Yes, there are concerns over his inconsistent play and eight drops in 2024, but his potential? Through the roof. Williams has drawn comparisons to Cordarrelle Patterson and Deebo Samuel, and it's easy to see why. He can line up anywhere and, at 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds, is a nightmare to tackle in the open field.
The Packers get four years of Williams on a rookie contract, whereas the Cowboys will have to pay Pickens to avoid the trade becoming a one-year rental.
It's impossible to compare Williams and Pickens as players. They offer completely different skill sets. But Williams offers something the Packers' offense lacks — if he reaches his potential, look out. He needs a creative play-caller to unlock his best football and couldn't have dreamed of a better situation than becoming a key piece of Matt LaFleur's offense.
Williams even said so himself.
The Cowboys are banking on Pickens' proven production but have rolled the dice in classic Jerry Jones fashion. The Packers took a gamble of their own by drafting a boom-or-bust prospect in the third round, but they made the right call.
Williams is on a rookie contract and has untapped potential. Pickens is talented, but there are too many concerns — enough for the Steelers to give up on him.
Green Bay used its third-round pick on a wide receiver, and it's hard to argue it made the correct call.