It is still incredible to remember that George Pickens is a Cowboy.
When the Dallas Cowboys traded for George Pickens, it was the splashiest outside player acquisition they’ve made since 2018 when they gave up a first-round draft pick for another wide receiver, Amari Cooper. Such a move has been highly praised for the most part. Pickens has put up over 800 yards in each of his first three seasons in the league, including eclipsing 1,100 yards the year before last. He’s a good football player.
While the majority feel the Cowboys made a good trade, there is a chance this doesn’t work out. There’s no secret that things soured in Pittsburgh, which led to them shipping him off. His overall attitude, effort, and occasional on-field antics created enough of a concern for head coach Mike Tomlin that he was deemed expendable. And to Tomlin’s credit, he’s pretty good about jumping ship before it hits the iceberg, as there is a good list of former Steelers’ receivers who were productive while they were there, only to sink to the bottom when venturing off to their new team.
As much of a headache he can be, Pickens isn’t facing any looming suspension for violating anything, nor has he ever been suspended. There is a long list of fines (10 total) he’s been hit with for doing stupid stuff, ranging from an obscene gesture to taunting. And he loves grabbing people’s facemasks (three separate penalties), which is sort of weird considering he plays offense. Suffice it to say, we all know this move comes with some risk.
But there is also a huge side of this coin where things work out quite nicely. With all his supposed drama, he’s still a huge contributor. The Cowboys haven’t had a WR2 this talented since Cooper’s last season with the team. That year, the offense finished no. 1 in the league in both points scored and yards gained. They were humming.
How well Pickens performs will go a long way on whether this ends up being a good trade for the Cowboys; however, there’s another part of this as well that gets a lot of attention. He’s in the final year of his rookie contract, so he will hit the open free agent market next offseason. Unless the Cowboys have something up their sleeve, this trade could end up being a one-year rental. It’s a tight battle, but the majority of fans (52%) believe he’ll be one-and-done in Dallas. If that happens, does that change your perception of the trade?
If you’re against the trade, your general feeling is, let’s wish for the best, and hopefully, he gives the team some production on the field and possibly earns them a compensatory pick in 2026. In that camp, a Pickens extension is the last thing on your mind. If you’re opposed to the trade, there would be no logical reason to double down by making a larger financial commitment.
For those who love the trade, locking him down even longer probably sounds appealing. The idea of him and CeeDee Lamb running rampant over the next few years would quench the thirst of so many who’re parched from all the Allen Hurns/Noah Brown/Jalen Tolbert drought they’ve had to endure in the past.
The Cowboys could be hedging their bets. They like him enough to use a future third-round pick on him, but would like to see things play out before making any additional commitment. That seems like the smart way to go, even if it drives up the price a bit. Paying for good players isn’t a bad problem to have, but guessing wrong and eating a bunch of dead money for bad investments can have a lingering effect.
Examining the range of outcomes, here is what we could be looking at:
- Extend him now, he turns out to be great, a good-value contract
- He’s great, they extend him next offseason, he’s more expensive
- He’s great, but he’s just a one-year rental, the Cowboys get a good comp pick
- He’s blah, he’s just a one-year rental, the Cowboys get a weaker comp pick
- He’s a bust, he’s a one-year rental, no comp pick, the Cowboys wasted a third-round pick
- Extend him now, he’s a bust, and the Cowboys are hit with a big dead-money hit
When you start to hypothesize the likelihood of these things happening, it feels like options 2, 3, or 4 are what the team is facing. Neither of those choices is a best-case or worst-case scenario, but there are both good and bad outcomes. When you look at these possibilities and their corresponding consequences, it’s hard to complain about the trade. Obviously, some outcomes are better than others, and only time will reveal the answer, but regardless of what happens, the Cowboys were right to make this deal.
Where do you stand?