Steelers Now
Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens was named second-team All-Pro by the Associated Press in his first season with the Dallas Cowboys. Pickens finished the 2025 season with 93 receptions for 1,429 yards (15.4 average) and nine touchdowns. All figures were career highs.
Pickens feels slighted with the second-team All-Pro nod, however. He believes he should’ve been first-team All-Pro.
“What’s the criteria for [First-Team] All-Pro?” Pickens wrote via an Instagram story. “Ahhhhhh gotcha. It’s not [about] the play.”
Puka Nacua of the Los Angeles Rams, Jaxon Smith-Njigba of the Seattle Seahawks and Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals were the first-team All-Pro wide receivers.
In another Instagram story, Pickens wrote in small print over a graphic of the three Cowboys who were selected to the All-Pro team, “2 team, popularity contest?”
Pickens had 17 more receiving yards and one more touchdown than Chase. Chase had 125 receptions compared to Pickens’ 93. Pickens might have a case with that selection, but Nacua and Smith-Njigba were clearly the top two receivers in the NFL in 2025.
#Cowboys WR George Pickens questions if the All-Pro voting is a popularity contest after not being included in the first team. 🗣️
‘What's the criteria for first team. All pro? Ahhhhhh gotcha. It's not ab the play😌’ – GP
📸: 1.issue (IG story) pic.twitter.com/mfa2R93ESQ
— Jadon (@thecowboysguru) January 10, 2026
in an recent article he wrote for The Players’ Tribune, Pickens admitted that he was immature during his tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers. That factor played a big role in why the Steelers traded Pickens and a 2027 sixth-round draft pick. to the Cowboys for a 2026 third-round draft pick and a 2027 fifth-round draft pick in May.
Pickens recently posted Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III’s game-winning touchdown catch against the Baltimore Ravens on his Instagram story.
It may be a tough pill to swallow for Pickens, who missed the playoffs in his first season with the Cowboys.
However, he seems to be happy seeing his former team potentially do what he was unable to during his time in Pittsburgh — win a playoff game.
Pickens is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Despite Jerry and Stephen Jones both expressing a strong desire to re-sign Pickens, they might financially be unable to pay two top-tier WRs. They’re already paying CeeDee Lamb $34 million per year. The Cowboys are currently projected to be over the 2026 cap.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Ex-Steelers WR George Pickens Snaps after Being Named Second-Team All-Pro
