On The Move: Breaking Down George Pickens on the Cowboys

The Pittsburgh Steelers finally traded George Pickens, and they couldn’t have traded him to a team where he fits better. The Steelers’ makeover this offseason is…interesting, but the Dallas Cowboys have added a critical piece to their offense that could enable them to challenge the dominant Eagles, and the rising Commanders in the NFC East.

In the early going, it seemed as if Pickens was on the verge of a full on breakout season which would’ve been impressive considering his 2023 campaign included Pickens amassing 1,140 yards. Instead of the breakout, we got an up-and-down season which included incredible highs, rock bottom lows, and a lot of frustration. He finished 2024 with 59 receptions, 900 yards and three touchdowns. His highlights were majestic, his lowlights maddening, and his strengths glaringly clear.

Pickens clearly thrived with Russell Wilson under center vs. Justin Fields. Fields opened the season as the starter and in his six games, Pickens averaged 4.3 catches for 60.5 yards while scoring no touchdowns. For the rest of the year he averaged 4.1 receptions for 67.1 yards and caught all three of his scores. He also averaged 16.3 yards per reception with Wilson vs. 14 with Fields. Pickens caught 10 passes of 20+ yards with Wilson under center vs. seven with Fields. Simply put, he was a consistently more dangerous weapon with Russell Wilson playing QB because Wilson had free reign to sling it down the field. Ideally, Pickens would/will evolve into a more full field threat because that’s what true No. 1 receivers are, but for now he was a bit too one dimensional for the Steelers passing game to be centered on, especially with the NFL’s murkiest QB situation.

In Dallas, these are not problems for Pickens. He will be playing with Dak Prescott, by far the best QB he’s ever caught passes from. He is on a team with a subpar rushing attack that finished 22nd in Rush DVOA last year and added little to the RB room besides retread veterans (Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders) and a little-touted rookie (Jaydon Blue). And he can stick to his strengths, which is playing on the outside as an X receiver while CeeDee Lamb operates as the alpha, moving all over the formation and drawing the more significant coverage. Lamb is one of the NFL’s truly elite receivers and he will remain the focus of all opposing defenses’ attention. That is leaving Pickens in many cases in one-on-one situations. Here’s a reminder of what Pickens has been able to do thus far in offenses where he is the top target and he was catching balls from far inferior QBs.

Pickens has averaged 15+ yards per reception in each of his first three seasons, has 57 career plays of 20+ yards. In 2024 alone he has 17 plays of 20+ yards, 13 plays of 30+ yards and four plays of 40+ yards. All of the 40+ yarders came with Wilson under center hurling deep balls, which Prescott will have zero hesitation throwing his way. And Dallas also loves to chuck the football in general; Last season they threw the ball 637 times, third-most in the NFL, and in the prior season with Dak under center all year, they were Top 10 in pass attempts while scoring the most points in the league. Dallas’ second-most targeted pass-catcher in 2024 was TE Jake Ferguson, followed by Jalen Tolbert and Brandin Cooks. Pickens is an absolutely perfect addition to this offense, provided his ego/intensity is kept in check and he does not become a burden to the coaching staff. Behavioral issues torpedoed his draft stock, and are the main reason he’s even being traded in the first place. If Pickens can keep himself on the straight and narrow, he could be one of the biggest breakouts in the NFL.