Inside The Star
After the NFL draft ended, the Dallas Cowboys still lacked a major need at the wide receiver position, and Jerry Jones told everyone that they were still looking to address the problem.
Nobody, including myself, actually believed that until the morning one week ago on May 7th, when they made the move to trade for Steelers wide out George Pickens that they had any chance on the offensive side of the football.
The best available guy out there is who they pulled in, but it came with a lot of questions. Some folks think this makes the Dallas Cowboys a playoff team, while others think that his attitude and the way he acts on the field.
https://twitter.com/nflnetwork/status/1920852879075676563
Let me first start by saying this is not what I think of Pickens, but if you look around the media world, people are comparing Pickens and the way he plays the game and his mood to Dez Bryant.
Stephen Jones even said it himself, “we think of him as more than a (No. 2 wide receiver). … Here you get a guy who has experience, who has had great success in the NFL, obviously a tremendous competitor. He reminds a lot (of us) in our building of Dez Bryant, in terms of his competitiveness and what he brings to the field, his edge.”
Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones on @MadDogRadio when asked about concerns in trading for WR George Pickens:
“He’s an uber competitor, and we had one in Dez Bryant who was the same way. I mean, he just couldn't get enough. And boy, when the lights came on and his cleats hit the turf,…
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) May 12, 2025
Like Bryant, Pickens is a big-bodied receiver who can make plays downfield. He led the league with 18.1 yards per catch in 2023 and averages 16.3 yards per catch in his three-year career.
Similarly, Bryant averaged 14.0 yards per catch in his 10-year career, eight of which were spent in Dallas.
Not only that, people remember the personality of Bryant, but he was not doing what Pickens had been doing.
He was involved in multiple on-field incidents during his time in Pittsburgh, prompting Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin to want to move on, and if you follow football, Tomlin does not give up on guys unless they are completely out of control. Antonio Brown, for example.
Through the first three years of his NFL career, Pickens has caught 12 touchdowns and added a rushing TD. With a 1,000-yard season under his belt with maybe the worst quarterback play in football over the last few years.
It is a high-risk, high-reward type of move, that, if they can make it work, could help the Dallas Cowboys make the playoffs this season.
Pickens has all the talent in the world, and let’s be honest, Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph and Mitchell Trubisky threw him the football in 2023 when...
