After a relatively quiet offseason, the Dallas Cowboys made a blockbuster move to revamp their wide receiver room. A 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick in exchange for George Pickens and a 2027 sixth-round pick, immediately adding the perfect complement to CeeDee Lamb.
However, after being the sole star of the show for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pickens is going to have to adjust to his new role in Dallas. A former superstar wide receiver isn’t sure what that transition is going to look like, casting doubt on the potential viability of the Lamb-Pickens wide receiver duo.
Doubts Emerge About George Pickens With the Dallas Cowboys
Pickens was the clear-cut wide receiver one with the Steelers, tallying over 800 yards in each of his three seasons in the league, including a 1,000+-yard outing in 2023. But, on the Cowboys, his role is going to shift to being a WR2.
And legendary wide receiver Steve Smith has doubts about how that would play out. First and foremost, his co-host James Palmer had questions about Pickens’ demeanour, which has been a topic of controversy since he stepped foot into the league.
“You have a head coach in Mike Tomlin who says it is time to move on and part ways with George Pickens. And you’re Jerry Jones and you say, ‘Okay, Brian Schottenheimer in your first opportunity as a head coach, handle a headache that Mike Tomlin didn’t wanna deal with.'”
“Can George Pickens really be ok with being Robin? Because he ain’t Batman in Dallas.”@SteveSmithSr89 wonders how Pickens will fit in with the Cowboys 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/6KdMUGH2R8
— Underdog (@Underdog) May 7, 2025
Smith was in agreement with the assessment. But he had another wrinkle to add to the conversation. “Can George Pickens really be ok with being Robin? Because he ain’t Batman in Dallas. That’s #88.”
A five-year veteran compared to Pickens’ three, Lamb has been one of the most productive receivers in the entire NFL since he stepped into the league. With four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to his name, he also had a monstrous 2023 campaign, tallying 1,749 yards as the Cowboys made the playoffs and quarterback Dak Prescott had an MVP-caliber season.
Once he steps in, Pickens isn’t going to be taking over that spot. However, combined with Lamb’s three-level excellence, the threat of Pickens’ moon ball could give the Dallas offense a major uplift.
Last season, they ranked in the bottom 10 of the league on PFSN’s Offense+ metric. Pickens, if his pairing and demeanor work out on America’s Team, could be the perfect option to elevate that number significantly.
But, as Palmer mentioned, dealing with that is going to be one of the toughest challenges of rookie head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s first year in the league.