{"id":47102,"date":"2025-05-10T03:18:50","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T03:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=47102"},"modified":"2025-05-10T03:18:50","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T03:18:50","slug":"stephen-a-smith-feels-george-pickens-trade-to-cowboys-just-looks-good-on-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=47102","title":{"rendered":"Stephen A. Smith Feels George Pickens\u2019 trade to Cowboys just \u201clooks good on paper\u201d.."},"content":{"rendered":"

Stephen A. Smith is not confident about Brian Schottenheimer’s ability to handle a personality such as George Pickens.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Stephen<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Stephen A. Smith and George Pickens (Image Credits: L-via IMAGO, R-via AP)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The Dallas Cowboys often get criticized for making too few moves during the offseason. This time, Jerry Jones has lived up to his promise of going \u2018all-in.\u2019 In the first month of free agency alone, the team signed 10 players, with the majority of them being on the defensive side of the ball. Dallas was expected to pick Texas Longhorn Matthew Golden with their draft pick in the first round.<\/p>\n

However, Jerry Jones opted for offensive guard Tyler Booker. To make up for this, America\u2019s team has added George Pickens from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Dallas traded a third-round and a fifth-round pick in exchange for\u00a0George Pickens<\/strong>. They added a talented receiver, who is physically gifted to play alongside CeeDee Lamb.<\/p>\n

The recent addition\u00a0attracted mixed responses\u00a0from fans who were not sure if this addition was worthy of a celebration or a cause for concern. After all, despite Pickens\u2019 skills, he has proven to be quite the character to have on an NFL team. This is a man who spent nearly $200,000 towards repaying his fines across three years.<\/p>\n

George Pickens\u00a0is an unpredictable athlete, which is why even the harshest critic of the Dallas Cowboys, Stephen A. Smith, could not help but burst into laughter after hearing of this trade. The ESPN analyst believes that George Pickens in a Cowboys uniform is a great fit, on paper. However, come game time, everything that can go wrong will go wrong for this team again.<\/p>\n

Smith is not wrong to be concerned. George Pickens has shown fans that he\u00a0lets his emotions dictate his actions. At one point, he\u2019d be running a route, and after the play ends, his frustration causes him to enter into an altercation with a defensive back on the field. Pickens has become synonymous with unpredictability. This is the\u00a0prime reason that led the Steelers to trade\u00a0him. Smith is expecting similar behavior on his part in Dallas.<\/p>\n

\n

This is funny\u2026So, this dude is supposed to be a headache, you got a new Coach that nobody wanted, that you elevated in Brian Schottenheimer, you got Dak Prescott, who is allergic to prosperity come playoff time, right?<\/em><\/p>\n

Stephen A. Smith on George Pickens<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

Smith went after the Cowboys\u2019 recent decision to appoint an inexperienced offensive coordinator to the post of HC and Dak Prescott\u2019s terrible record in the playoffs. Rather than solving these persisting issues,\u00a0Jerry Jones\u00a0went out and got himself another walking problem.<\/p>\n

Stephen A. Smith believes the Cowboys should have invested in a reliable running back<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Smith believes the franchise would attempt to hold on to running back Rico Dowdle or replace him with a better option.<\/p>\n

\n

You don\u2019t have much of a running game because Rico Dowdle, you didn\u2019t even try to hold onto him, you went and got this brother, (Javonte) Williams from Denver because he was half the price\u2026which means you\u2019re going to be passing the ball all day long. The more you pass, the more it sets the stage for Dak Prescott to make a mistake when it matters most. Congratulations to the Cowboys, I\u2019m sure it looks good on paper, it always does\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Stephen A. Smith concluded<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

Dallas has made some interesting choices offensively. In a bid to extract the most from Dak Prescott after paying him all that money, the team will focus on passing the ball for the most part.<\/p>\n

\"George
George Pickens (Image via IMAGO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The team has a crowded running back room with fifth-round pick Jaydon Blue, Javonte Williams, Phil Mafah, Deuce Vaughn, and Hunter Luepke. Surprisingly, the Cowboys did not attempt to trade up for Ashton Jeanty, who was picked by the Raiders early in the first round. Dallas is sending a clear message -they intend to rely on Dak Prescott\u2019s arm to win a Super Bowl. This makes things for opposing defenses easier because they no longer have to be concerned about defending two fronts.<\/p>\n