New Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens has a clear role this year, but how he perform remains a big mystery as ESPN’s Bill Barnwell sees it.
The Cowboys traded for Pickens on May 7 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. One the No. 1 wideout in Pittsburgh, Pickens will be second to Cowboys star CeeDee Lamb.
“With Pickens in a contract year, he has every reason to be motivated in Dallas,” Barnwell wrote. “Few players have a wider range of potential outcomes in 2025; he could be a top-15 wideout or end the season on another roster.”
Pickens has 174 catches for 2,841 yards and 12 touchdowns in three seasons with the Steelers. The former Georgia star has averaged at least 15.3 yards per catch in every season of his career despite the quarterback carousel in Pittsburgh.
“Pickens is moving from one of the league’s least pass-happy offenses to one of its most,” Barnwell wrote. “The Cowboys threw at the third-highest rate in neutral game scripts on early downs before Dak Prescott went down with a season-ending hamstring injury in Week 9.”
“The Steelers ranked 25th by the same metric over that span. Dallas also plays at a faster pace than Pittsburgh, something likely to continue with Brian Schottenheimer taking over as coach,” Barnwell added.
Pickens will get his chances to thrive in Dallas’ pass-oriented offense and a shot at a bigger contract in 2026.
George Pickens Receives ‘Massive Upgrade’
GettyGeorge Pickens will play in a more pass-happy offense than the Steelers in 2025.
In Pittsburgh, Pickens caught passes from five different starting quarterbacks in three seasons. He never went the whole season with one starter, either.
“Pickens is also going to get a massive upgrade at quarterback,” Barnwell wrote. “For whatever flak Prescott gets for his weaknesses, he throws one of the most consistently accurate balls of any quarterback.”
“His ball placement on slants, digs and back-shoulder throws, in particular, has been excellent over the past few years. Pickens is going to see plenty of those routes,” Barnwell continued. “With CeeDee Lamb operating out of the slot, the Cowboys have needed an “X” receiver since they moved on from Amari Cooper before the 2022 season.”
“Between Cooper and Dez Bryant, Prescott had that big, physical receiver on the outside for most of his career. Pickens should be that guy,” Barnwell concluded.
George Pickens Needed in the Red Zone
Barnwell sees Pickens benefitting the Cowboys the most in the red zone this season. Dallas had a 46% scoring mark for touchdowns in the red zone last season, which was second-worst in the league for 2024.
“Pickens has the frame and catch radius to be an impactful player in close quarters, but that has never really shown up inside the 20-yard line,” Barnwell wrote. “He had just five touchdowns on 48 targets inside the red zone in his first three NFL seasons. I’d like to see Schottenheimer create one-on-one opportunities for his new wideout to leverage that 6-foot-3 frame.”
“For all the positives of Pickens moving to Dallas, the downside has to be a reduction in target share,” Barnwell continued. “He drew targets on more than 25% of the routes he ran a year ago, which ranked 25th among all wideouts. Brandin Cooks, whose role in the lineup is nominally going to Pickens, drew targets on just under 19% of his routes in 2024.”
“That might not sound like a big difference, but over a full season, that gap could amount to 40 extra targets,” Barnwell concluded.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Cowboys’ George Pickens ‘Has Every Reason to Be Motivated’ appeared first on Heavy Sports.