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.