Saints Writer Praises New Orleans For Avoiding Trade For George Pickens

Should the Saints have tried to trade for George Pickens?

Jul 27, 2023; Latrobe, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens (14) participates in drills during training camp at Saint Vincent College. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Saints desperately need to add a wide receiver this season. Right now, they have an injury-prone Chris Olave with lackluster depth behind him.

One of the top trade options, George Pickens of the Pittsburgh Steelers, just came off the board, too. The Steelers traded Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys earlier this week.

Despite the glaring need at wide receiver for the Saints, Jeremy Trottier of Saints Wire praised the Saints for avoiding a deal for Pickens.

"The issue becomes that he tends to go after people randomly, and it typically backfires as the opponents just use it as fuel, which is a detriment," Trottier wrote. "Does this justify not looking into him at that price? Not really. He has all the talent to become a long-term viable option at wide receiver, as long as he can rein himself in a bit and really focus on his craft.

"Talent is talent, as has been displayed in the NFL time and time again. But would it have helped the Saints, who are already going through somewhat of a culture rebuild? Probably not. It seems they may have made the right call here at the end of the day, but the wide receiver spot still needs to be addressed, no doubt."

In all seriousness, Pickens wouldn't have fit in New Orleans. He's on the last year of his contract and the Saints likely wouldn't have the money to re-sign him anyway. Making a trade for a rental star like Pickens would have been fun for this season, but he would have had no future with the team.

Pair that with the glaring immaturity he's shown and you have a recipe for disaster. The Saints made the right decision in avoiding him.

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