The Dallas Cowboys’ biggest acquisition for the 2025 NFL season was George Pickens, brought in via trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He arrives as the long-awaited complement to CeeDee Lamb the franchise had been looking for, giving Brian Schottenheimer’s offense more versatility.
But the biggest winner in all this is likely Dak Prescott. The quarterback now has another reliable, high-upside target to work with, and in an interview, he said he’s excited to play alongside Pickens.
Dak Prescott Looking Forward To Playing With George Pickens
The Cowboys’ 2025 offseason has been an interesting one in terms of the franchise’s short-term plans. With a draft focused on the trenches and a few targeted moves in free agency, there was still one gap left to fill — a wide receiver, something Stephen Jones had promised earlier in the offseason. And right after the draft, that piece arrived.
Prescott spoke to sports radio station “The Ticket” about the receiver’s arrival and how he sees his talent adding to the team’s offensive game for the upcoming season.
Dak Prescott on @dfwticket this morning on the addition of George Pickens and the impact it will have on the offense: pic.twitter.com/PURBZjuY0o
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) May 14, 2025
“You turn on the tape and you see a guy that can catch the football. You put the football anywhere in his vicinity, very strong hands. More than a 50/50 catcher. He thinks it’s his ball when it’s in the air. I’m excited for him. I know that we need some help at the position. I know CeeDee needs some help and i think when you have a guy like that, I heard George say it, it’s hard to double team two guys.”
Pickens is a 6’3”, 200-pound receiver who plays with physicality in every aspect of the game. His production still has room to grow, as he has just one season with over 1,000 receiving yards, but that could be tied to the fact that the Steelers’ system didn’t fully bring out the best in its wideouts on the field.
Dallas’ offense was a unit in need of a new element compared to last year. In 2024, the team ranked 23rd in the PFSN Offense+ Metric, with the passing game being the main factor behind the low score.
“Overall, the Cowboys ranked 28th in passing success rate and 29th in EPA per dropback. Even just isolating the stretch when Dak Prescott was the starting QB, the results weren’t too different. Dallas ranked 27th in passing success rate and 22nd in EPA per dropback before Prescott’s season-ending injury in Week 9,” Sterling Xie wrote.
However, for the plan to work, Pickens will need to stay focused. It was revealed that most teams weren’t interested in trading for him due to concerns about his immaturity, and that shows on the field. On plays where he’s not the primary target, Pickens has been seen running routes without full effort at times, and he’s also been prone to getting into unnecessary scuffles.
In any case, the Cowboys head into 2025 with more excitement than they did last year. The franchise will open the season against its rival and reigning Super Bowl champion, the Philadelphia Eagles, and a Week 1 win would be the perfect spark to energize a roster that needs to find success right away this season.