George Pickens spoke to the media for the first time as a Dallas Cowboy on Thursday.
The big topic of discussion surrounding the Dallas Cowboys after the 2025 NFL Draft, although it was a successful one for them, was the fact that they didn’t take a wide receiver at any point despite the glaring need. However, it was reported that the Cowboys were working on a few trades that could take place around the draft.
This all came to fruition on Wednesday when Dallas sent a third-round pick in 2026 and a late-round pick swap to the Pittsburgh Steelers to acquire George Pickens. Instantly, the addition of Pickens makes the Cowboys offense more explosive and dynamic with his skillset, which is a guy who can stretch the field vertically and can haul in contested passes in traffic with his huge catch radius. It complements a player like All-Pro CeeDee Lamb perfectly with his ability to hurt defenses in the middle of the field and make plays in space.
“CeeDee is a super dynamic receiver, super dynamic person, player. I just feel like schematically you won’t be able to double everybody, so that’ll be a great thing for me and him.”
Not only will Pickens and Lamb be able to feed off of each other, but so can a guy like tight end Jake Ferguson. Pickens gives the Cowboys two legitimate threats on the outside, which will allow Ferguson to make plays down the seams. Also, this opens up the run game with how teams will have to respect Dallas through the air and not stack the box.
Pickens was a second-round pick in 2022, making next season a contract year for him. Of course, once the trade was made, the rumblings of the Cowboys getting him signed long-term began to surface. Pickens, on the other hand, wants to prove himself first before cashing in on his first lucrative deal.
“I’m not thinking about contract talk. I’m worried about coming here and trying to help build a winning culture.”
This is certainly a huge opportunity for Pickens, who hasn’t had the best quarterback play during his career up until this point. He’s still been able to average just under 1,000 yards per season, and now, he gets to play with Dak Prescott, who was the runner-up for MVP honors in 2023.
There’s no denying the talent of Pickens when watching him on the field. With that being said, there have been questions about his maturity level to some degree. The former Georgia Bulldog didn’t shy away from it during his first media session with the Cowboys.
“I’m gonna take it one day at a time. Everybody in the world is working on bettering themselves. I feel like growth is me moving in the right direction and coming to the Cowboys.”
A change of scenery can be a great thing, and the Cowboys are hoping that’s the case for Pickens.