Dak Prescott explains why George Pickens is about to get even better following 168-yard performance

There's no denying the Dallas Cowboys' loss to the Carolina Panthers will sting for a while. It will sting because the defensive effort was one of the worst fans have witnessed in years, because the NFC East appeared wide open days ago due to the Philadelphia Eagles' struggles, because the team is wasting Dak Prescott's best football, and because it wasn't a game they were expecting to lose.

And yet, how fun is Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens? On Sunday, he stepped up yet again in the absence of CeeDee Lamb. He finished the day with nine catches for 168 receiving yards and a touchdown.

And hearing Prescott talk about his outing postgame made it clear Pickens is only going to get better as the receiver grasps a better understanding of the Cowboys offense.

Dak Prescott points out Pickens' understanding of the offense is growing

"He's just an elite receiver, he's playing hard, he's understanding everything that we throw at him," Prescott told reporters postgame. "Whether it's being in different positions, you saw him in the slot a lot more today making big plays. And then after he gets the ball in his hands, some of the things he does, only George can do. He's a special player, we're lucky to have him, and we're only going to get better each game."

Pickens' contributions to the offense earlier in the season had been limited to him lining up on the outside. Against the Jets and Packers in the previous two weeks, for example, nine of his 10 catches happened as the outside receiver. The once exception was a play in which a running back was outside of him.

In Week 6, however, Pickens made big plays from the slot. In the first quarter, Prescott targeted him on third and six as Pickens gained separation working from the slot to the outside versus man coverage. In another third down, Ryan Flournoy's pre-snap motion to the outside turns Pickens into the slot receiver at the snap, stressing the defense. Pickens runs an in-breaking route and is always one step in front of his defender.

Pickens being able to line up anywhere will only make the Cowboys' wide receiver duo along with CeeDee Lamb an even more dangerous one as it will become less predictable. For now, watching Pickens is fun. A large reason why? He is having fun playing for the Star on his helmet.

"When you get to throw it to a guy like that and he makes a catch and you watch him make the people miss afterwards, trying to jump over them, he loves football," Prescott said. "You see it on Sunday, I see it all throughout the week."

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