According to FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz, the Green Bay Packers are “serious” about trading for Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens. Pickens is in the final year of his rookie contract after being drafted by Pittsburgh in 2021. Following the trade of DK Metcalf to the Steelers and the subsequent $132 million contract extension that Metcalf signed, there are real questions about whether or not Pittsburgh will also pay the market price to keep Pickens around, too.

In three NFL seasons, Pickens has recorded 2,841 receiving yards. The Packers brought Pickens in on a pre-draft visit back in 2021, but elected to trade two second-round picks to move up the draft to select Christian Watson — now recovering from an ACL tear — rather than picking Pickens.

To say the least, Schultz has some spotty accuracy when making predictions about Green Bay. He frequently linked Odell Beckham Jr. to the Packers when OBJ was potentially available, a move that simply never manifested. He also stated that the draft would only have 8-10 attendees, while 18 players ended up accepting their invites to the event at some point.

So will the Packers give up a draft pick — or more — for Pickens by the end of this weekend? It’s hard to know for sure, but there’s at least some smoke out there about it. It’s more difficult for teams to make draft week trades than fans imagine, as the timing of physicals becomes a factor.

The assumption is that once traded for, Pickens would sign a contract extension with his new team. According to Spotrac, Pickens’ contract projection is in the ballpark of a four-year, $94.3 million deal that would pay him in the top dozen or so receivers in the league.