When the Pittsburgh Steelers traded George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys this offseason, no one questioned that he had the talent necessary to be a dominant wide receiver. The off-the-field antics seemed to overshadow the obvious physical abilities in the Steelers’ decision to move on. Now, Pickens is thriving in Dallas. In twelve games with the Cowboys, George Pickens has more receptions, yards, and touchdowns than he did in any of his three full seasons in Pittsburgh.

This success away from Pittsburgh has led many to wonder if the Steelers made a mistake by moving on from Pickens. As a result, Stephen A. Smith, known for his loud, brash opinions, shared his thoughts on Pickens’s departure from Pittsburgh.

“What a receiver can do in terms of maximizing his potential, [Pickens] is doing that, to the point that we have to look at the Steelers and say ‘Management, why the hell did you let him go?’,” Smith said on ESPN’s First Take on Friday. “Had you had a quarterback, he probably wouldn’t have wanted to leave.”

Pickens’s stellar play with the Cowboys, currently second in the NFL in receiving yards, combined with the Steelers’ stagnant passing attack, has fueled second-guessing and hindsight debates. Many will point to Pittsburgh’s struggling offense and say the easy fix would have been keeping the receiver who is finally reaching his potential.

George Pickens doing more George Pickens things #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/zZo045a7dU

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What Smith said has some truth to it, though. Had the Steelers had a quarterback like the Cowboys have in Dak Prescott and the kind of offense that Dallas possesses, Pickens’s frustrations may have never reached the tipping point that they did.

During his three seasons in Pittsburgh, Pickens caught passes from Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, Justin Fields, and Russell Wilson. In other words, there was no stability at quarterback, and it showed in the results. The Steelers’ offense never ranked higher than 23rd in yards.

At times, Pickens became frustrated with his lack of targets and his role in the offense. While there have been a few bumps in the road in his first season with Dallas, he has largely remained in the headlines for his play rather than any extracurricular troubles. Simply put, as long as Pickens is producing on the field, it seems the issues with immaturity and professionalism are a thing of the past. It’s as evident as ever that while the Steelers could definitely use his talent as a threat in their passing offense right now, they don’t have the right personnel to create the environment that Pickens needs to thrive.

As Stephen A. Smith said, if the Steelers had the right quarterback, Pickens might not have wanted to leave. Things could have been very different under a number of different scenarios. With Pickens flourishing in Dallas, the best the Steelers can hope for is improved play from their offense to close out this season and beyond.