Dallas Cowboys fans couldn't be more excited for the future of George Pickens after the receiver's breakout performance on Sunday Night Football. It wasn't just the fact that Pickens enjoyed a career night, but also understanding the context of when it happened.
It was against a previously dominating Green Bay Packers defense, who was planning specifically for Pickens, understanding that CeeDee Lamb was going to miss time. Despite this, the receiver finished with two touchdowns and 134 receiving yards.
On the heels of that performance, owner Jerry Jones has made it clear he wants to keep Pickens for the long haul. According to the Athletic's Jon Machota, Jones highlighted Dallas' "outstanding" cap space structure and alluded to the Micah Parsons trade freeing up extra resources to do other things, such as extending Pickens. He also commended Pickens for being an "exemplary teammate" in what's an obvious first move toward retaining the budding star wideout.
"Jerry Jones
"I’m proud to tell you that we’ve got some outstanding structure in our cap space that will allow us to do a lot of things that I didn’t think (we could) at this time last year. … We got it. We paid a price for it. … We can do it now.""
Cowboys Have a Chance to Have League's Best Receiving Duo for Years to Come
Pickens showed what he can bring on the biggest stage and eased concerns that he was only capable of being a secondary option behind Lamb. Jones now making these comments hints at the fact the franchise is looking at keeping Pickens locked up long-term after he passed this test with flying colors.
It is clear that the identity of Dallas is going to be built around its two star receivers and the playmaking of Dak Prescott. As long as the quarterback is healthy and at least one receiver is on the field, the team is going to have a chance. We saw this against Green Bay on Sunday night in what was an unquestionable moral victory for the Cowboys in the 40-40 tie.
Being without your best playmaker and still going blow-for-blow with an NFC contender who needed a win shows Dallas clearly is approaching its offense the right way. The WR2 role has been a glaring issues for years, but the Cowboys appear to have the perfect player now alongside Lamb.
Pickens' clear comfortability slotting into the leading receiver role makes a long-term partnership with him and Lamb that much more enticing, just in case the latter misses any time during his prime years. Pickens will still have to get through Jones' sometimes arduous contract negotiations to stick around, but the fact the owner already appears on board with the wideout's return bodes well for less issues arising.