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Cowboys And 'NFL's Best' George Pickens Have Glorious Contract Chance

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Adam Schultz | Last updated Jun 7, 2025 11:10 AM ET

When the Dallas Cowboys traded for Pittsburgh Steelers receiver George Pickens, there was a collective sigh of relief with the franchise finally getting Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb help.

However, upon closer examination, we discovered that Pickens would be playing on the final year of his rookie deal, meaning a payday is coming in 12 months' time.

Granted, that is great for Dallas.

Why? Because Brian Schottenheimer gets a motivated player, and the hope is that he can continue his trajectory towards being a top receiver in football, with the Cowboys benefiting from it.

And for NFL.com senior researcher Anthony Holzman-Escareno, he's picked George to be one player who could reset the market next offseason.

"Pickens has averaged an NFL-best 16.3 yards per reception since entering the NFL in 2022 (minimum 150 catches)," Holzman-Escareno writes. "His 515 deep receiving yards (throws of 20-plus air yards) ranked second in the league last season. Pickens could play his way into a huge contract next offseason with a big year after being dealt from the Steelers to the Cowboys."

For Pickens to command nearly $30 million APY, he will have to, we expect, surpass 1,000 yards and have a handful of touchdowns opposite Lamb.

Is that doable? Absolutely.

But he will be sharing targets; in fact, CeeDee will be the lion's share of them. Plus, Schottenheimer wants to be a run-first football team, meaning plays will also get eaten up by the run game.

Still, Pickens has the talent to make it work with the best quarterback he's had in his NFL career, and an offense that feels more pass-happy than Pittsburgh's.

It's all on George in 2025.

Play well, and you'll be handsomely rewarded ... but we aren't sure he'll reset the receiver market.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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