The Indianapolis Colts won’t have to face wide receiver George Pickens this season after he was traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Dallas Cowboys.
We don’t know when yet, but the Colts are traveling to Pittsburgh in 2025.
Pickens was selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft and had been a key part of the Steelers’ passing game in each of his first three seasons. This included totaling nearly 1,200 yards in 2023 and coming up just short of the 1,000-yard mark in 2024. Throughout his career, Pickens has been a big-play threat, averaging 16.2 yards per catch.
Against the Colts specifically, Pickens has played Indianapolis three times, hauling in 13-of-24 targets for 217 yards at 16.7 yards per catch. The Colts are 2-1 in those games.
Although the Steelers no longer have Pickens, the Colts will have to contend with DK Metcalf, who Pittsburgh acquired via trade this offseason from Seattle.
Metcalf is another big-play threat, averaging almost 16.0 yards per catch over the last two seasons, and he’s eclipsed 1,000 yards in three of his five NFL seasons and has never been below 900 receiving yards.
However, behind Metcalf on the depth chart, the Steelers now have some question marks.
Last season, we saw the Colts’ secondary routinely picked apart by opponents’ No. 1 wide receivers. To remedy that, GM Chris Ballard spent heavily in free agency, bringing in Charvarius Ward and Cam Bynum, not to mention that the addition of Lou Anarumo and his more aggressive and disguise-heavy scheme can hopefully provide the secondary with a boost as well.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: George Pickens no longer on Colts’ schedule after Cowboys-Steelers trade
Reporting by Paul Bretl, Colts Wire / Colts Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
