When we lose Pickens we better make sure there's a huge plan like this for Lamb, and hopefully he catches it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s funny to me how some people in the hypothetical “fan world” seem afraid to move on from Pickens to speed up improving this team, even though other teams have traded better players without even having someone like CeeDee Lamb as their WR1. Teams just need one true top wide receiver—we have that guy—and we’re building this offense around the run game setting up the pass, or vice versa, in a very balanced way going into year two. I’m confident they can draft and develop a receiver in camp to compete for WR2, and while he might not be on Pickens’ level, not every playoff or Super Bowl team has two receivers like that—it’s a bonus, not a necessity. Acting like the offense would fall apart without Pickens is wild, especially since in 2023 Mike McCarthy’s scheme wasn’t even fully balanced between run and pass but still had a record year. I’m not diving into the full history of star receivers traded, but the Raiders gave up Amari Cooper for a first-rounder, Tyreek Hill left Kansas City purely for cap reasons, and A.J. Brown isn’t even supposed to be on the Eagles right now. None of those teams had CeeDee Lamb waiting in the wings, yet they still made moves to improve. Meanwhile, the Cowboys need a defensive rebuild with a new staff, more players, and extra money for that side of the ball. As much as I like Pickens, he’s the one asset we could flip for a first-round pick or more and save over $30 million.
It’s wild how often big trades happen and star players get moved, yet in this case we still have our starting receiver. It’s like you’re acting as if he was shut down all of 2023—or maybe you’re thinking about the playoff game—where you believe having George Pickens would’ve made the difference.
Odd, considering we had a 7-win season with plenty of second halves where the offense disappeared, and he himself vanished in some games. I don’t get why there’s hesitation to improve the team by trading him; it’s just a hypothetical where he’s asking for too much. Paying a second receiver more than $30 million would be financially reckless.
In this scenario, the Cowboys need cap space and draft picks more than they need a superstar second receiver. This doesn’t necessarily weaken the team—you’re overlooking the credit Brian Schottenheimer, Klayton Adams, and Riley deserve for building the run game, and in year two of this offense, you could utilize a drafted receiver plus camp to find another guy.
Show me the playoff teams with a truly dynamic one-two punch at receiver—maybe Cincinnati, maybe the Eagles, though even they have their own hypothetical AJ Brown drama.
I mean, is it me or did the Seattle Seahawks utilize one great receiver and then a good depth chart to back him up Same with New England and Stefan Diggs which I don't even know if it's better than Lamb but they found a way They did it with better defense and still had a quality offense.
BTW We’ve seen CD Lamb and Pickens look left out and complacent at times, and those were the games where we wondered where they were when we couldn’t score in the second half or had drives stall with no one open in the end zone.
This “dynamic offense” idea feels a bit off, because while we had a top offense, it’s not exactly the first time Dak has lead top 5 or higher offense without that type of 1-2 at WR.
