During a Thursday appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," NFL insider and ESPN personality Peter Schrager touched upon how others inside the Pittsburgh locker room felt about Pickens.

Before last month’s draft, speculation had been mounting that the mercurial receiver’s time in Pittsburgh was up.

All the warning signs were there in plain daylight when the Steelers were on the clock in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Pre-draft evaluations of Pickens told the story of a talented player who couldn't get out of his own way. Maturity issues overshadowed his success in college, and so far, it's been the same story in the NFL .