Here is how the George Pickens acquisition is going to impact the rest of the Cowboys receiver group.
As we’re sure you already know, the Cowboys just traded for a new starting wide receiver in former Steeler George Pickens. He walks in as CeeDee Lamb’s wingman, bumping everyone else on the depth chart down a peg. What does that mean for Jalen Tolbert, Jonathan Mingo, and others in what’s now become a competition for WR3?
One could argue that the Pickens trade is an indictment of those other prospects. But even after the draft, Stephen Jones was clear that while the front office believed Tolbert, Mingo, and Ryan Flournoy had WR2 potential, they weren’t there yet. So this move is really just in support of that assertion and recognizing that they need to give Dak Prescott, Brian Schottenheimer, Klayton Adams, and others more to work with if this season is going be worth playing.
Also, with Pickens only having a year left on his deal, this could wind up being no more than a one-year rental. If Pickens has a big year and can get franchise money from another team, or at least WR1 money, the Cowboys will likely let him go and recoup their draft pick through the compensatory process. At that point, Mingo will still have a year left on his deal and Flournoy will have two. Tolbert and KaVontae Turpin would be unrestricted free agents, but likely much cheaper to re-sign than Pickens.
So yes, all of these other receivers still matter. And not just for the future; the third receiver has really become a starter in the modern NFL. They consistently play more snaps than a second RB or TE throughout the league. The Cowboys need one of their WR prospects to play a major role behind Lamb and Pickens, and be ready to do even more if one of them gets injured.
The general feeling this offseason has been that it’s a two-horse race between Tolbert and Mingo. Tolbert posted career highs with 49 catches, 610 yards, and seven touchdowns last year, doing his best work when Dak Prescott was still playing. But those positive signs didn’t stop Dallas from sending a fourth-round pick to Carolina for Jonathan Mingo in early November. Mingo never got a chance to play with Prescott, only Cooper Rush, and so that still leaves a lot of mystery over who might prevail in this year’s training camp and preseason battles.
But while Mingo vs. Tolbert is the headliner this summer, Flournoy and Turpin shouldn’t be forgotten. Remember, Flournoy’s name was mentioned in the same breath as those other two when Stephen Jones was discussing players with future starting potential. If Flournoy has added more technique to his dynamic qualities, he could easily challenge for that third spot.
Turpin isn’t your prototypical starter given his size, but that’s why he becomes more intriguing in a discussion about WR3. His athletic gifts leave all other contenders, and most defensive players, in the dust. We saw that in the Week 11 loss to Houston, where Turpin took a basic slant route to the house on nothing but pure speed.
The beauty of Dallas’ situation is that CeeDee Lamb’s versatility to play any WR spot, including the slot, gives them flexibility in this competition. They can focus on getting the best players the most snaps, not worrying so much about role and fit. And it also means they can throw a lot of different looks at opposing defenses throughout the year, using Lamb to exploit matchup advantages wherever they’re presented.
We may not care who gets the most snaps, especially if the Cowboys are winning games. But you know these players do, especially with expiring contracts for some. Ryan Flournoy, Jonathan Mingo, Jalen Tolbert, and KaVontae Turpin may not have ever really had a shot at being the other starter in 2025. If it wasn’t coming from the draft, this George Pickens trade or another move like it felt inevitable. But now that that’s settled, they still have a huge part to play in this season and will be one of the hottest stories of the summer.