The Dallas Cowboys see George Pickens as the next Dez Bryant, Cowboys COO Stephen Jones says. Following their trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers to land the star wide receiver, Jones sees them add another star opposite of CeeDee Lamb.
“He’s just a dynamic receiver,” Jones told Adam Schein on Mad Dog Sports Radio. “Everybody says we’re looking for a two. I mean, George can be a one. He’s got that type of talent. He’s got unbelievable ball-tracking ability. He’s got plenty of juice and he’s a fiery competitor. And we love that, he plays with an edge, and we think he’d be a good fit for our team.”
The Steelers traded Pickens for a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick.
The Athletic reported that Pickens was 40 minutes late to the team’s Christmas Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs, which was after the inactives were released. Pickens was returning from a hamstring injury and was supposed to test the injury pregame.
Former NFL wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh said his tardiness, paired with his on-the-field controversies, was enough for the Steelers to axe Pickens and move on.
“They didn’t want to pay him 30-plus million dollars and these antics are probably just going to get worse because you’re not even making anywhere near that. You’re doing all this now? What you gonna do when you get the money? And so they said. ‘You know what, we’re gonna get rid of [him]. Dallas, he’s your problem,’ but he’s gonna be a really good problem,” Houshmandzadeh said.
The second-round pick of the Steelers in the 2022 NFL Draft, both he and Kenny Pickett, the team’s first two picks from that draft, never finished their rookie contracts with the team.
Pickens missed three games with a hamstring injury, dampening what looked to be a second-straight 1000-yard season with the third-year wide receiver.
He averaged 15.3 yards per reception with 59 receptions for 900 yards on the year. In each of the last two seasons, Pickens has eclipsed 15 yards per catch and 900 yards as the focus of the team’s passing offense.