Expectations were high for George Pickens' debut with the Dallas Cowboys. Not only would his presence there open things up for CeeDee Lamb, but he would give Dak Prescott another deep-play threat and potential star at wide receiver.
That's why it was so disappointing to see him be little more than an expensive decoy in the season debut. He drew just four targets and hauled in three receptions for 30 yards, 15 of which came in a single play and in the fourth quarter.
Of course, that's not going to be the case often. When asked about that, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer dismissed all concerns about his involvement or effort, and he just tipped his hat to the Philadelphia Eagles for shutting him down.
Brian Schottenheimer Is Still High on George Pickens
“Absolutely not. I wish we got more targets [to him], but I honestly thought they did a good job taking him away. I'm the biggest George Pickens fan in the world, as a teammate, the way he plays the game. He plays the game the way we want everyone to play, on the edge, but don't go over the edge," the head coach said, per Nick Harris.
Lamb dominated the passing game with a whopping 13 targets. He finished with seven receptions for 110 receiving yards. Besides him, only TE Jake Ferguson drew more targets (6) than Pickens.
Pickens is known for his hot temper, so while it makes sense to gradually increase his workload and involvement in the offense, the Cowboys need to tread lightly with him.
That's why Schottenheimer is doing the right thing to praise his demeanor since he joined the team, and why they will be wise not to spoon-feed him going forward. He's a competitor, and as such, he wants to contribute.
George Pickens Needs to Do Better
Notably, Pickens' underwhelming stats weren't the only reason why he made the headlines after Week 1. He also drew an unnecessary roughness penalty that took his team away from the red zone in the third quarter. When asked about that, Coach Schottenheimer held him accountable:
“We talked about it," Schottenheimer said. "We approach all things like that. He came in too high and slung the guy down, and it was a good penalty [call]…We just talked about it. You can't hurt the team. And I love the physicality that George plays with, but all of us, you can't do stupid shit. And I'm not saying that was the only stupid thing that we did, but like things that hurt the team like that, you can't do that, especially in the red zone.”
Pickens is as talented as they come, but that's why Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers gave up on him. He has the potential to be a superstar, but he can also be his own worst enemy. There were legitimate concerns about giving him a big-money deal because of that.
The Cowboys have to hope that this will be just a blip on the radar, and he'll focus on what he does best. If not, they should be quick to lay the hammer on him before it's too late.
The message is loud and clear: We're going to stand by you and rally behind you when you do things well, but we're not going to tolerate you holding us back because of your temper. A player's coach, like Mike Tomlin, failed to tame him, but it looks like Schottenheimer knows just how to deal with him.