Steelers Analysis Steelers History
How Did George Pickens Return Stack Up to Steelers WR Trade History?
George Pickens is not the first standout receiver the Pittsburgh Steelers have shipped off. He probably won’t be the last if things trend like they have for the past decade and a half. Since 2010, Mike Tomlin’s team has offloaded five notable wideouts in Santonio Holmes, Martavis Bryant, Antonio Brown, Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson, and, on Wednesday, George Pickens.
The Steelers netted 2026 third-round and 2027 fifth-round draft picks from the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for Pickens and a 2026 sixth-round choice. Here’s a look at the Steelers’ recent history with wide receiver trades and how they’ve fared after departing from Pittsburgh.
Santonio Holmes: Traded to the New York Jets in 2010 for a 5th-round pick
With the Steelers: A first-round pick out of Ohio State in 2006, Holmes was a four-year starter for the Steelers. The hero and MVP of Super Bowl XLIII at the end of the 2008 season, Holmes was coming off best season in black and gold, a 79-reception, 1,248-yard effort in 2009, when he was traded.
He had been arrested the year before for possession of marijuana and was involved in a domestic violence incident in 2006, with misdemeanor charges later being thrown out.
After the trade: Holmes wouldn’t come within 25 grabs or 500 yards of matching the previously mentioned showing in any of his four seasons with the New York Jets. He fizzled out after nine games with Chicago in 2014.
The return: The Steelers traded the pick they got for Holmes for cornerback Bryant McFadden, a former Steelers player who had signed with the Arizona Cardinals in 2009, and a sixth-round pick. McFadden spent two more seasons with the Steelers, including the 2010 season when he started in Super Bowl XLV.
The Steelers used the sixth-round pick, No. 195 overall, to draft Central Michigan wide receiver Antonio Browns. More on him in a bit.
Martavis Bryant: Traded to the Oakland Raiders in 2018 for a 3rd-round pick
With the Steelers: Bryant was a freakish athlete, but he couldn’t get out of his own way in Pittsburgh. Over his first two seasons as a Steeler, he displayed an ability to be a game-breaker. He had 765 receiving yards in 11 games in 2015, an output that exceeded expectations for the former fourth-round choice.
He missed the first four games of that go-round due to a drug-related suspension. After the campaign, he was barred for 2016 for the same offense. He slipped down the depth chart because of that before being sent to the Oakland Raiders for a third-round pick.
After the trade: Just over four months later, the Raiders released him as he faced another suspension for the same violation. He played in eight games after Oakland picked him back up soon after — posting 19 receptions for 266 yards and no touchdowns — then was banned indefinitely. Bryant had stints with Dallas, Washington last year after stints with alternate football league teams.
“We’re calling Martavis ‘The White Tiger,'” then-Raiders head coach Jon Gruden said before Bryant was released the first time. “I used to go to Busch Gardens in Tampa. … You know, you go to Busch Gardens, and they got a white tiger? You go 12 times, 13 times I went to Busch Gardens, and the white tiger was always in his cage. Well, the white tiger came out today. Bryant came out. I don’t know if you get that analogy, but sometimes he comes out to play, and sometimes he doesn’t. And it’s good to see him because he’s really special, like the white tiger.”
The return: The Steelers packaged the No. 79 overall pick they received from the Raiders with a seventh-round pick (No. 220 overall) to move up in the third round to draft Mason Rudolph at No. 76. After Ben Roethlisberger was shelved with an injury in 2019, Rudolph started eight games for the team. He made just two starts over the next three seasons before enjoying a three-game stretch two years ago that helped the Steelers surge to the playoffs.
Rudolph left for Tennessee as a free agent last offseason before returning during this one.
Antonio Brown: Traded to the Oakland Raiders in 2019 for 3rd-round, 5th-round picks
With the Steelers: Before Brown dove off the deep end — check his X account for further context — he was a receiver adored by Steelers fans everywhere. He earned four straight first-team Associated Press All-Pro nods from 2014-17 and put up six straight 1,000-yard campaigns to cap his career in Pittsburgh.
After the trade: The Steelers first planned on moving Brown to Buffalo, but he refused. After being sent to Oakland, he didn’t play a single regular-season down for the team, being released after a bizarre few months that included a dispute over his helmet type and frostbite on his feet.
Brown played one game with Tom Brady in New England before being cut amid allegations of sexual assault. He’d later play a season and some change with Brady in Tampa Bay, winning a Super Bowl, before running shirtless out of MetLife Stadium.
The return: The Steelers used the third-round pick (No. 66 overall) on Diontae Johnson — wait, we’ll get back to him — and the fifth on tight end Zach Gentry. Gentry spent four years in Pittsburgh, notching an unremarkable 39 catches for 303 yards.
Chase Claypool: Traded to the Chicago Bears in 2022 for a 2nd-round pick
With the Steelers: Claypool felt like a revelation as a rookie, recording 62 catches for 873 yards and nine touchdowns in 2020. He followed that up with 59 catches for 860 yards and two scores the next season. But, he became more of a distraction over time.
After the trade: After he was banished to the Windy City, Claypool recorded 22 receptions for 217 yards in 17 games with the Bears and Miami Dolphins, where he was traded a year later. He signed with Buffalo last year but never saw the field.
The return: The Steelers drafted cornerback Joey Porter Jr. with what was essentially a first-round selection (No. 32 overall), being that Miami forfeited its No. 20 overall choice as punishment for tampering violations.
The Steelers have very easily been the beneficiaries of the trade, as Porter is a starter in the team’s secondary and has played in 33 regular-season games. Pittsburgh is hoping he pulls it all together after having some coverage troubles a year ago.
Diontae Johnson: Traded to the Carolina Panthers in 2024 for CB Donte Jackson, late-round pick swap
With the Steelers: Johnson was the Steelers’ longest-tenured offensive player at the time of his trade. He’d recorded 4,363 receiving yards over five seasons in Pittsburgh, but was ridiculed on the back end of his tenure with the team for a lack of effort. The Steelers believed him to be expendable with George Pickens able to take his place. (Funny how things work out, isn’t it?)
After the trade: Johnson played seven games in Carolina, was traded to Baltimore for four games, refused to play for the Ravens, was cut, went to Houston, and then got cut again. All told, he had 375 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 33 receptions.
The return: Jackson started 15 games opposite Porter last season, pulling down five interceptions, before departing for the Los Angeles Chargers in free agency. With the sixth-round pick (No. 177 overall), the Steelers took defensive tackle Logan Lee. He didn’t see any playing time as a rookie.