Incredibly talented, wide receiver George Pickens didn’t quite live up to his potential in Pittsburgh. Now, he gets a fresh start entering his fourth NFL season with the Dallas Cowboys. Should fantasy football managers look to target the Cowboys’ WR2?
George Pickens Fantasy Outlook
Since entering the league in 2022, Pickens has been one of the better downfield receivers. His lowest yards per reception came in 2024 at a still impressive 15.3. His lowest aDOT came in 2023 at 13.5.
This type of usage made Pickens very boom or bust. He was prone to splash plays and spike weeks, but very unreliable every week.
Pickens’ best year came in 2023 when he averaged 12.3Â fantasy points per game. Of course, he wasn’t scoring anywhere near 12.3 PPG each week.
Pickens only scored more than his average on six occasions all season. He had more games with single-digit fantasy points (10). Pickens could reach that average because he posted games of 22.7, 26.6, 35.5, and 20.1 fantasy points. Outside of those four weeks, he was only a strong start once.
Last year, Pickens was a bit more consistent, but lacked the massive spike weeks. He averaged 11.7 PPG, exceeding that number six times once again. This time, he gave fantasy managers five WR1-caliber outings.
The thing about Pickens’ penchant for volatility is that his target share was quite strong at 26.5%, 14th in the league. He averaged a respectable 2.15 yards per route run, 28th in the league.
Pickens has been a good receiver, whose problems have been with attitude, focus, and quarterback play.
Now in Dallas, Pickens finds himself in a much more favorable setup. He’s the WR2, but in this case, it’s fair to say he doesn’t believe he should be the WR1, which is something I think he considered in Pittsburgh during the two years he played alongside Diontae Johnson.
Pickens also has a skill set that complements Lamb very well. While Lamb occupies defenders underneath and over the middle of the field, Pickens will see a ton of single coverage on the outside.
CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens – just look at their reception heat maps
This WILL work and probably work very very well for the #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/7sryBmv2K1
— Ray G (@RayGQue) May 7, 2025
The more important reason to get excited about Pickens this year is the way this team is structured. The Cowboys rank 25th in PFSN’s Defense+ metric. As a reminder, the last time the Cowboys had a terrible defense, Prescott was on pace to shatter the single-season passing yards record as the offense lit up the scoreboard by necessity in 2020.
The Cowboys also have one of the worst running back rooms in NFL history and a head coach, Brian Schottenheimer, who lost his previous job in Seattle for, in part, wanting to throw too much.
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The stars are aligning for a season in which the Cowboys constantly have to keep pace on the scoreboard, while also throwing a lot due to an ineffective run game.
Pickens’ ADP WR29. It’s fair based on his role as the WR2 and his past performance. Plus, there are a lot of good wide receivers. I can’t help feeling very bullish about Pickens this season. I have him ranked as my WR26, slightly above consensus. The opportunity is there for Pickens to potentially push WR1 numbers in an offense that throws the ball a ton.
Dan Fornek’s George Pickens Fantasy Profile
George Pickens struggled to find fantasy relevance during his three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. In three seasons in Pittsburgh, he averaged just 97.7 targets, 58.0 receptions, 947 receiving yards, and 4.0 touchdowns. There were plenty of big plays (16.3 yards per reception in his career), but unfortunately, not enough passing volume or strong quarterback play to produce fantasy points. Pickens has never finished higher than the WR35 in PPR points per game.
That will all change in 2025. The Steelers traded Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys this offseason after acquiring DK Metcalf. Pickens will function as the secondary weapon in the passing attack to CeeDee Lamb, but even that should create a massive increase in the targets he sees. There is also no question that Dak Prescott is the most talented quarterback Pickens has ever played with.
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New head coach Brian Schottenheimer was the head coach in Dallas for the last two seasons. During that time, the Cowboys averaged 625.5 passing attempts per season (36.7 per game). For comparison, the Steelers averaged 525.3 attempts (30.9 per game) during his tenure with the team.
Pickens’s strengths as a player (downfield targets and contested catches) pair perfectly with Prescott’s skillset. Combined with the Cowboys’ high-volume passing attack, that will finally give Pickens what he needs to finish as a WR2 in 2025. The only question is whether he can push into the WR1 range in his new surroundings.
