{"id":721289,"date":"2026-02-01T11:28:39","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T11:28:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/721289\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T11:28:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T11:28:39","slug":"former-steelers-wide-receiver-named-top-free-agent-of-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/721289\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Steelers Wide Receiver Named Top Free Agent of 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"categories\"><a href=\"https:\/\/steelersnow.com\/steelers-news\/\" rel=\"tag nofollow noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" target=\"_blank\">Steelers News<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"788\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/12-1-2024-Steelers-v-Bengls-16949.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium tpd-force-16x9-aspect-ratio wp-post-image\" alt=\"Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens\" decoding=\"sync\" loading=\"eager\"   fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 1, 2024. &#8212; Ed Thompson \/ Steelers Now\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>The Pittsburgh Steelers have several key players who are set to become free agents this offseason, but it is one of their former players who is believed to be at the top of everybody\u2019s list.<\/p>\n<p>Pro Football Sports Network named former Steelers wide receiver <a href=\"https:\/\/steelersnow.com\/tag\/george-pickens\/\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">George Pickens<\/a> as the No. 1 free agent of 2026.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven if it\u2019s just for the 2025 season, the\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0trading a package headlined by a third-round pick to the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0for\u00a0George Pickens\u00a0was a total steal,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.profootballnetwork.com\/2026-nfl-free-agent-rankings-top-100\/\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Jacob Infante wrote<\/a>. \u201cBased on\u00a0PFSN\u2019s NFL WR Impact Metric\u00a0(WRi), Pickens ranked third in the league behind only\u00a0Puka Nacua\u00a0and\u00a0Jaxon Smith-Njigba\u00a0with an 88.4 score. He had long been a reliable weapon during his time with the Steelers, tallying 2,841 yards in three years. However, he blossomed into a true WR1 in Dallas, which is usually very hard to find in free agency.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pickens, 24, is coming off a career year with the Cowboys, during which he recorded a career-high 93 catches for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"788\" height=\"591\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/10-6-2024-Steelers-v-Cowboys-12917-2.jpg\" alt=\"Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens\" class=\"wp-image-86744\"  \/>Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens runs with the ball against the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 8m 2024. \u2014 Ed Thompson \/ Steelers Now<\/p>\n<p>That, of course, is why many have tabbed the trade as one of the worst in NFL history.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think that trading George Pickens is probably going to go down as one of the worst deals in NFL history, and I mean that. I\u2019m sorry to the Steelers. I just think it\u2019s true,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/UpAndAdamsShow\/status\/1990853800098148532\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener external nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"(opens in a new tab)\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">Kay Adams said on the Up &amp; Adams Show<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>However, even after Pickens had a breakout season, Dallas is still expected to franchise-tag him, which would pay him around $28 million next season, instead of signing him to a long-term deal.<\/p>\n<p>Why? Because of the potential distractions Pickens brings on and off the field. Pickens\u2019 kept mostly quiet during his first season with the Cowboys, but he was still <a href=\"https:\/\/steelersnow.com\/george-pickens-benched-for-start-of-game-by-cowboys\/\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">benched to start one of Dallas\u2019 games<\/a> in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>That may scare off some teams from committing long-term to Pickens, but it\u2019s safe to assume someone is willing to give him the massive payday he is looking for if the Cowboys are not.<\/p>\n<p>A second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft by the Steelers, Pickens has recorded 267 catches for 4,270 yards and 21 touchdowns in his professional career.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMentioned In This Article: <a href=\"https:\/\/steelersnow.com\/tag\/dallas-cowboys\/\" rel=\"tag nofollow noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" target=\"_blank\">Dallas Cowboys<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/steelersnow.com\/tag\/george-pickens\/\" rel=\"tag nofollow noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" target=\"_blank\">George Pickens<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/steelersnow.com\/tag\/pittsburgh-steelers\/\" rel=\"tag nofollow noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" target=\"_blank\">Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/steelersnow.com\/tag\/steelers\/\" rel=\"tag nofollow noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" target=\"_blank\">Steelers<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Steelers News Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 1,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":721290,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[257,7,467,6,520,57,2360,426],"class_list":{"0":"post-721289","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-dallas-cowboys","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-george-pickens","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-pittsburgh","13":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","14":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","15":"tag-steelers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115995143666717825","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=721289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721289\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/721290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=721289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=721289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=721289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}