The Dallas Cowboys traded for George Pickens to partner with CeeDee Lamb, but what should we expect from the former Pittsburgh Steelers star?
The Dallas Cowboys' move for George Pickens was quite the mood-lifter, and now CeeDee Lamb gets a proper No. 2 (or 1B) receiver for the first time since the Amari Cooper days (2020 and 2021).
Pickens is seen as the move that makes the Cowboys' offense a far more dangerous proposition for defenses to stop due to his explosive play-making ability and what Lamb can do as a one-man wrecking crew. It is difficult for defenses to stop both.
But back to George.
He comes to the Cowboys with a little bit of pressure on his young shoulders to help take some of the offensive burden off of Lamb, and he will have to produce from the get-go to make defenses have to pick and choose who to cover.
That brings us to what I think is a rather important question that hasn't been addressed yet.
What are realistic expectations for Pickens in 2025?
In each of his three seasons with the Steelers, Pickens has had at least 52 receptions, 800 yards, and three touchdowns. That is more than serviceable in that Pittsburgh offense, and if he put up those numbers in Dallas, that is a solid season.
However, he's walking into a better situation with the Cowboys.
Does that alter the expectations? I think it should.
George Pickens And CeeDee Lamb At AT&T Stadium
By Tony Fisher
Let's look back at the last time Dak had two genuine receiving options, and for that we go back to Amari and the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
With both Lamb and Cooper in the offense, each had over 100 targets, at least 68 receptions, and a minimum of 865 yards.
It is no secret that Lamb will see the majority of the targets, but if Pickens, as Cooper did alongside Lamb, gets 100-ish targets, going by George's history, then that is at least 900 receiving yards.
Is that a fair expectation? Given that Pickens has had 1,140 and 900 yards in his last two seasons (averaged 67 and 64 yards per game, respectively), that might be the baseline.
And then there is this: Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup in 2019 each had 1,000-yard seasons. In 2020, Cooper made it there with Lamb totaling 935 yards. Hey, in 2012, the Cowboys had three 1,000-yard guys in Jason Witten, Dez Bryant and Miles Austin.
So an "explosive No. 2'' getting 1,000 yards is viable.
And if Pickens hits anything near that, along with CeeDee doing his thing, this tandem could be rather potent in 2025.
