George Pickens Cowboys debut

George Pickens played his first regular-season game as a Dallas Cowboy on Thursday night in a 24-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

He had three receptions on four targets for 30 receiving yards, but also picked up an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

A much-anticipated debut for the fourth-year, second-round draft pick out of Georgia, to give Dallas a legitimate WR2, and take some of the weight off of CeeDee Lamb’s shoulders.

Yet, no surprise, Lamb was still Dak Prescott’s favorite target. The connection the two have built over the years was the reason Lamb saw 11 passes come his way, which accounted for seven catches and 110 receiving yards.

However, the most telling part about Dallas’ passing game did not come on the stat sheet. Late in the game, when the Cowboys needed big plays to attempt to mount a comeback, Lamb was the target of all deep balls and potentially game-changing plays.

This is not to say that Pickens won't be a viable option late game in the future, but it was clear that the six-foot-three, 200-pound receiver and Prescott haven't been able to build that trust yet.

Pickens, 2,841 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns in three years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, eclipsing 800+ yards each year, and peaking in 2023 with a career-high 63 receptions, 1,140 yards, and five touchdowns.

Most impressively, Pickens was the No. 1 target throughout his three-year stint with the Steelers, most impressively in his career year in 2023, where he played under three different quarterbacks: Kenny Pickett (12 games), Mason Rudolph (three games) and Mitchell Trubisky (two games).

Then, in 2024, he split time under Russell Wilson (11 games) and Justin Fields (six games), where he backed up his 2023 showing with 59 receptions, 90 receiving yards, and three touchdowns in just 14 games, on pace to reach 1,000+ receiving yards if he played all 17 games.

Now, the one thing that will hopefully change for Pickens in Dallas is the stability at the quarterback position.

Dak Prescott is, and has been, a Cowboy football since 2016, and after his four-year $240 million extension, he will remain in Dallas through 2028. Providing he can stay healthy, Pickens has time to form a bond with a single quarterback that can be carried over not just from game to game, but for years to come.