The Pros and Cons of acquiring George Pickens

[Diehardblues]

The Dallas Cowboys desperately needed some help at the WR position and Jerry got aggressive and traded for the Steelers mercurial receiver George Pickens for a reasonable cost. No one would question Pickens’ talent.

To me, the good news of this trade outweighs the potential bad news.
THE GOOD NEWS (PROS)

• Pickens is a real first round talent, who at 24 has huge upside. If he can show more maturity here, he as a chance to be a stud.
• Pickens averages over 16 yards per catch in his career and has shown some consistency in getting open and making plays.
• He has averaged about 60 receptions for 1,000 yds in his first three seasons, which is certainly very good for the role we need him to be here.
• He’s been durable, playing in every game in 2022 and ‘23, and 14 last year.
• He didn’t cost a fortune and has the potential to give this offense some juice it desperately needs

THE POTENTIAL BAD NEWS (CONS)

• He has been one of the most fined players in the NFL for taunting and silly unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, accumulating nearly $300k in fines.
• He has a tendency to reduce effort and disappear when he is not targeted.
• His target to reception ratio has been 59% but he has not played for the most accurate passers the last 3 years.
• He only has one more year on his rookie contract. If he has a great season will JJ pay market price to keep him?

Overall I like this trade. Pickens gives this offense a real weapon and should force defenses to have to account for more than just Lamb. He didn’t cost a fortune either.

Key questions remain- Can GP grow up and become a more complete player and maximize his potential? Will he become a one year rental or will JJ be able to lock him down in a second contract?

It’s going to be fun waiting to see.

Yep. And that’s the potential downside. Is a 3rd round pick worthy of a 1 year WR2?

If it wasn’t for his other baggage , I’d probably be more on board. His talent isn’t in question. And being a Cowboy he’ll be more in spotlight and be flagged or fined even more.

The good news is he will be playing for his next contract. Will we have a good enough season and him as well to pursue that second contract. If not then the 3rd round pick will be heavily criticized .

But I get it. Fans are excited Jethro is trying to do something. IMO he could have drafted a WR in middle rounds to develop a WR2 who we’d know would be here for at least 4 years.

I was excited initially as well until I read all of the particulars including his personal behavior which raises red flags with our team which struggles discipline players within without a stronger culture.

 

[Pass2Run]

This is a great very informative post and thread Topic. Ty Bob. The facts on all sides have been presented, now we can decide what we think. That's all anyone can ask. I like the swing, and the effort by the team. The failure in this would have been NOT SWINGING at all. I give them an A for effort. Real tangible, needle moving effort, possible results.

Exactly. Yet, some are still bitter.

 

[Creeper]

The Dallas Cowboys desperately needed some help at the WR position and Jerry got aggressive and traded for the Steelers mercurial receiver George Pickens for a reasonable cost. No one would question Pickens’ talent.

To me, the good news of this trade outweighs the potential bad news.
THE GOOD NEWS (PROS)

• Pickens is a real first round talent, who at 24 has huge upside. If he can show more maturity here, he as a chance to be a stud.
• Pickens averages over 16 yards per catch in his career and has shown some consistency in getting open and making plays.
• He has averaged about 60 receptions for 1,000 yds in his first three seasons, which is certainly very good for the role we need him to be here.
• He’s been durable, playing in every game in 2022 and ‘23, and 14 last year.
• He didn’t cost a fortune and has the potential to give this offense some juice it desperately needs

THE POTENTIAL BAD NEWS (CONS)

• He has been one of the most fined players in the NFL for taunting and silly unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, accumulating nearly $300k in fines.
• He has a tendency to reduce effort and disappear when he is not targeted.
• His target to reception ratio has been 59% but he has not played for the most accurate passers the last 3 years.
• He only has one more year on his rookie contract. If he has a great season will JJ pay market price to keep him?

Overall I like this trade. Pickens gives this offense a real weapon and should force defenses to have to account for more than just Lamb. He didn’t cost a fortune either.

Key questions remain- Can GP grow up and become a more complete player and maximize his potential? Will he become a one year rental or will JJ be able to lock him down in a second contract?

It’s going to be fun waiting to see.

I think this is a fair assessment. I wonder though. Is Dallas going to be a good place for Pickens? If Dak has one flaw, it is he tends not to spread the ball around much especially when he is under pressure - and I don't mean pressure from a pass rush only. Dak is best when he spreads the ball around. He is worst when he forces the ball into a short list of receivers. If Dak gives Pickens 3 or 4 targets per game will this trade be worth it? Will Pickens be happy about it, especially if he sees Dak forcing the ball to Lamb or Ferguson?

Also, Pickens 16 yards per catch average conflicts with Daks propensity to dink and dunk. Dak was 23rd in the league last year in yards per attempt. For Pickens to be successful, I think Dak has to be willing to throw downfield and let Pickens make the catch.

 

[blueblood70]

The kid is just so complimentary for this offense it’s just uncanny. He now allows the offense, Lamb, and Dak to thoroughly run it finally. His best bet is to play out of his mind and earn his next payday.

 

[blueblood70]

Exactly. Yet, some are still bitter.

While I work with the Cooper first round pick brought in at the trade deadline when the Cowboys were 3 and 5 ended up 10 and 6 and then the second round of the playoffs and that the defense would have stepped up against the Rams we could have went further but they didn't giving up close to 300 yards on the ground is getting old but hey let's keep blaming the offense and the quarterback but that year we had the offense...

 

[CCBoy]

While I work with the Cooper first round pick brought in at the trade deadline when the Cowboys were 3 and 5 ended up 10 and 6 and then the second round of the playoffs and that the defense would have stepped up against the Rams we could have went further but they didn't giving up close to 300 yards on the ground is getting old but hey let's keep blaming the offense and the quarterback but that year we had the offense...

The team and refs have been tough on Prescott come the playoffs.

 

[atlantacowboy]

It's real simple. If he behaves, plays well, and we advance to at least the NFC title game, then the trade was well worth it. Otherwise, we burned a 3rd round pick on a one year rental for absolutely no reason.