The way Cowboys receiver George Pickens has played in recent weeks, with his deadly combination of quickness, size and the reliability of his hands, he’s become a particularly difficult guy for defenses to get a handle on. He is a master at going over the middle where he can secure a short gain–or turn a short gain into a long one–but overplay him there and he can burn a defense deep.
On Thanksgiving against the Chiefs, Pickens had six catches for 88 yards, his fifth straight game with at least six catches. He has 1,142 yards receiving this year, already establishing a career high, and rates No. 2 in the league in yardage on the season. His 73 catches are seventh.
Pickens said earlier in the year that he was excited about playing for the Cowboys because he felt the team would–and has–give him a more diverse set of routes to run. He might, too, have mentioned that getting out of Pittsburgh and joining up with Dak Prescott would help, too. The results are plain. And Pickens does not see how he can be stopped.
George Pickens: ‘There’s Nothing They Can Do’
Speaking to reporters this week ahead of the Cowboys’ Thursday night game against the Lions, Pickens was not lacking for confidence.
He said there is little hope for defenses when it comes to halting his slant routes.
“It’s kind of inevitable. It’s gonna happen regardless,” he said. “I really can’t describe it, it’s gonna happen regardless. I can beat it against 2-man, I can beat it against man, 3, 4. So it’s a window thing.”
With Pickens’ speed, he remains dangerous in deep go routes, too.
“There’s nothing they can do to win,” he said. “It’s kinda hard to describe because I got the go ball, I got the stop route. I got the slant—now they’re kind of focused on the slant. I still got the go ball. There’s a lot of stuff.”
Cowboys Using George Pickens on Slant Routes
As for the slant, Pickens finds those easy to read in the Cowboys offense. Whether the cornerback is shading him to the outside or inside–his leverage–Pickens has been finding a way to make him pay.
“I kind of beat both of them,” he said. “So sometimes I don’t even have the leverage but I still catch it. Slats are a short route so everything is just me, if he guards me and I make a contested catch or I just cook him off the line. I got a quick twitch. So if he is inside, I can do a certain move to make him go outside, or if he is outside, I can leave him there. There’s a lot of stuff.”
Lions-Cowboys to Have a Playoff Atmosphere
Going up against the Lions, in what is a must-win game for both Detroit and the Cowboys, Pickens and his fellow receivers will face a physical defense that has had some dominant stretched but that struggled in recent weeks slowing down the passing game. The Lions allowed seven passing touchdowns and 629 passing yards in their last two games.
The atmosphere figures to be intense, as the 7-5 Lions are just a half-game ahead of the 6-5-1 Cowboys.
Asked if he expects a playoff-type game, Pickens said, “I feel like, two types of teams that are already high caliber teams. So it’s already, whether it feels like it or not, the intentions of us going into it, are in that manner.”
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