The Dallas Cowboys had some missed opportunities during their 40-40 tie against the Green Bay Packers. But one of the things that Cowboys fans could feel good about is the performance of George Pickens, who caught eight passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns.
Pickens’s game was what Cowboys fans were hoping for when they made a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers last spring. But he also immediately triggered some fears. There were always some worries that Pickens was only using Dallas as a jumping-off point to revitalize his career, and those flames have been fanned by his post-game comments to The Athletic’s Jon Machota.
Machota asked Pickens about what he feels his performance has said about his potential in his first month in Dallas. While Pickens has been wise not to say anything that would come across the wrong way in the past, he dropped a hint that his future could be with another team other than the Cowboys when his rookie contract expires at the end of the season.
“I’d probably just say being a great receiver,” Pickens replied. “Just no matter kinda where I go or where I land, me, myself, George Pickens is a great receiver. I feel like that’s what I’ve shown people.”
George Pickens’s Comments Could Reveal Star WR’s End Game with Cowboys
This shouldn’t be a shock to anyone that has followed the Cowboys and Pickens this season. Pickens was looking to rehab his value in the final year of his contract after a Steelers tenure that was defined by crashouts as much as the 174 receptions for 2,841 yards and 12 touchdowns over his first three seasons. The Cowboys were looking for a dynamic playmaker to pair with CeeDee Lamb and give their offense an explosive threat.
Through the first four games, the Cowboys have definitely gotten what they want. Pickens now has 21 passes for 300 yards and four touchdowns through the first four games and stepped up in spectacular fashion after Lamb suffered a high ankle sprain. While Pickens was the star of the show on Sunday night, Cowboys fans might have an even bigger vision, seeing Lamb and Pickens lead an offense that dropped 40 points against a Packers defense that many felt was one of the best in the league. The fact that they did this without Lamb adds another layer of intrigue and could help the Cowboys compete even with a leaky defense.
But it’s also benefitting Pickens. If he continues at his current pace, Pickens would be in line for roughly 80 catches, 1,200 yards and 16 touchdowns by the end of the year. Regression should be accounted for in that projection, but it’s also interesting to think about considering how the wide receiver market has exploded over the past year with Garrett Wilson (four years, $130 million), Tee Higgins (four years, $115 million) and Jameson Williams (three years, $80 million) getting big money contracts.
A monster season could send Pickens out of the Cowboys’ price range and leave Dallas hunting for a younger, cheaper alternative with two first-round picks in next year’s draft. But even then, there’s no guarantee that the player they get will be as productive as Pickens has been in the first four games, leading Cowboys fans to fear the worst.
Perhaps Pickens’s play will make the decision as the Cowboys continue to try to win now with the big contracts of Dak Prescott and Lamb on the payroll. But hearing Pickens hint at being somewhere else is a grim reality for Cowboys fans who believe they’ve found an explosive playmaker.