The Dallas Cowboys made one of the bigger splashes of the offseason by trading for George Pickens. Pickens, the former Pittsburgh Steeler, was traded to Dallas for a third-round pick next season. The move will hopefully breathe life into a Cowboys offense that's been on a rollercoaster in the last few years.
According to NFL insider Ben Solak, the Cowboys' nifty move might be the most impactful move of the offseason. Why? Simply put, the Cowboys have addressed the one poisiton that they've failed to fix in the last few years. With the departure of Amari Cooper in 2022, Dallas cycled through failed WR2 experiments. Now, Pickens seems to be the experiment that's most likely to succeed.
“Pickens is unquestionably the most talented running mate Lamb has had since prime Cooper and has the capability of leading the Cowboys in targets any week,” Solak wrote on ESPN. “Dallas' running game looks suspect, and its defense looks beatable, so the wide receiver room really needs to help Dak Prescott reach 400-plus-yard outings for the Cowboys to compete. The Pickens-Lamb duo has legitimate Ja'Marr Chase-Tee Higginsand A.J. Brown-DeVonta Smith potential.”
The Cowboys have at least had solid tight end play from Dalton Schultz and Jake Ferguson in the last few years. That being said, Cooper's departure created a massive void at the WR2 position. Dallas tried to plug in different people at that position, to varying degrees of failure. Michael Gallup looked promising, but was often injured during his time in Dallas. Jalen Tolbert was good, but not as great as fans hoped. And Jonathan Mingo? That move was doomed from the moment it was announced.
On paper, Pickens is the perfect complement to Lamb in the receiving game. Lamb is a route master, adept at creating opportunities from the slot with his route-running. He's made a living feeding off touches from the slot position. On the other hand, Pickens excelled at one skill with the Steelers: playing deep. Pickens was an X receiver in all aspects: he ran fast, and he could catch contested deep balls with terrifying accuracy.
In theory, these two should feed off of each other's strengths and elevate their play. With the Cowboys being projected to struggle on the defensive end, the pressure is on the Cowboys' passing attack to carry the load.
