George Pickens came to the Dallas Cowboys this offseason with a reputation that preceded him on the field.
Seen as a fiery character with a passion that sometimes could be at the detriment of his team, many were unsure if the Pickens trade to Dallas would work. But with Brian Schottenheimer and his family culture now spreading throughout the organization?
So far, so good.
Everything we have heard since George first set foot in the building has been nothing but positive vibes. From the way he goes about practice, studies in the classroom, and mingles with his teammates, George is nothing like he is being portrayed as.
And at training camp, it's been nothing but great things seen.
"I see George in meetings, in practice, in the locker room, I see George shoot basketballs which he didn't shoot very good, he's happy," Schottenheimer said. "He's in a good spot in terms of, I think people that don't know George need to get to know George because when you get to know George, you're going to be blown away by the heart that the guy has. The way he loves the game of football, how important it is to him, how important his family is to him, his mom.”
That's what we want to hear.
And what about that cramp injury from the Wednesday workout that caused Pickens to exit practice a bit early? He was fine on Thursday in this workout ... and Dallas players have Friday off - so he'll be healed up and rested up for the weekend.
However, things are going smoothly now, with no pushback or adversity. So, when that comes, and it will, seeing how Pickens handles it will be crucial.
We have all seen the little clips of his on-field personality, and even he admitted he's not trying to be a "princess" on the field, so will George be able to reel it in when the going gets tough in the regular season?
Maybe he needed to get one more poke at Pittsburgh out of his system when this week he said, "Yeah, I'm definitely excited to run better plays, for sure.''
But otherwise?
We are taking a stab in the dark, but we say yes. Why? The relationships that have been built with Schottenheimer, Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and even Joe Milton. Players don't want to let each other down, and we imagine Pickens won't want to, either.
Yes, he gets white line fever, but in 2025, Pickens must channel that into something productive for the Cowboys, and we bet he will.
