Cowboys receiver George Pickens was rewarded for a stellar contract year by being kept from getting a fair market deal. This year, he's playing under the franchise tag — with a second tag looming if he has another great season.
Although his per-game targets and catches through six 2026 games are roughly comparable to his 17-game average in 2025 (8.66 targets and 5.5 catches in 2026 versus 8.05 and 5.47 in 2025), his yards per game are down (71.3 yards per game in 2026 and 84.0 in 2025). He has only one 100-yard game and only one touchdown this year. (In 2025, he had five 100-yard games and nine touchdowns.)
Meanwhile, questions have emerged about Pickens's effort, especially when the ball isn't coming his way. Coach Brian Schottenheimer addressed that issue in a Thursday session with the media.
“I think GP is one of those guys where I don't ever see him really affected in terms of the emotion of, ‘Does he get the ball? Does he not get the ball?’” Schottenheimer said regarding Pickens, via Todd Archer of ESPN. “These guys play a lot of snaps. I think part of it is us rotating those guys through, but he needs to understand that he impacts us in the running game as well. And he's got to do the same thing in the run game, picking up safeties and blocking corners just like Javonte [Williams] does, picking up blitzes so he can catch balls. And that's part of the team-first mindset and GP does understand that. And when he's going, they're going to place off to his side. When he's not going, then the safeties get pretty good runs at our backs and that’s got to improve.”
Schottenheimer has been instrumental in getting the most out of Pickens during his time in Dallas. And it's a calculated risk to call him out publicly.
That said, messages like this are often sent through the media when efforts to address the situation privately haven't worked.
Regardless, Pickens (like other great receivers) wants the ball. In July, Tom Brady explained the unique mindset of the receiver position, where the players are on an island and isolated from the action unless they're getting the ball.
If the Cowboys are going to have both Pickens and CeeDee Lamb, they need to find a way to involve both of them, early and often. Like other great receivers of the past, failing to find a way to get the ball in their hands eventually will have an impact on their overall attitude.