The Dallas Cowboys put the finishing touch on their offensive renovations on Wednesday when they acquired star wide receiver George Pickens from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It is Dallas’ most significant trade since they acquired Amari Cooper at the 2018 trade deadline to rescue their floundering offense. While Pickens will be the WR2 behind CeeDee Lamb, the need for a secondary receiver was so glaring that he could have a Cooper-like impact on the offense.
It will take time for Pickens to ingratiate himself with his new teammates and coaches. However, he handled himself really well in Thursday’s conference call with local reporters.
On top of sharing his excitement to play with Dak Prescott, Pickens came off humble and made sure not to say a single bad word about the Steelers. He has turned the page and is ready to hit the ground running with the Cowboys.
George Pickens is ready to move forward with the Cowboys after Steelers trade
“It was like my old draft reaction. I found out when everyone else found out,” Pickens said about the trade, via Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I feel great, I like the mojo here. I like the swag, there’s a lot of new players I’ve been meeting. I feel like they have a good thing going, for sure.”
Pickens no doubt has things to clean up on his end.
In college at Georgia, he threw Georgia Tech player into a wall during a mid-game fracas and missed the first half of the Bulldogs’ SEC Championship Game bout against LSU. Those outbursts have followed Pickens to the NFL.
Cowboys fans will remember Pickens ripping Jourdan Lewis to the ground by his facemask after Dallas’ last-second win in Pittsburgh last season. The 24-year-old was also popped twice in a different game for unsportsmanlike conduct. He was habitually late to team meetings and even showed up late to one game last season.
While Pickens’ immaturity is a concern, multiple reporters have intimated that a lot of his frustration stemmed from Pittsburgh’s unsettled quarterback situation. The Steelers rotated several QBs over Pickens’ three years, including an aging Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph and Mitchell Trubisky.
Despite his tangible frustration and occasional butting of heads with head coach Mike Tomlin, Pickens was well liked in the locker room. At the end of the day, he is all about football.
More than anything, Pickens needed a fresh start with improved quarterback play. Luckily for him, Dak Prescott is a top 10 player at the position and, when healthy, the Cowboys have been perennial playoff clinchers with this current core.
