When George Pickens arrived in Dallas following his trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers, he brought with him a subpar reputation as a negative locker room presence. Asked about that reputation at Cowboys minicamp, quarterback Dak Prescott said you can’t believe everything you hear.
In his three seasons with the Steelers, Pickens ran afoul of his coach and teammates on more than one occasion. The star receiver had issues being on time, and his on-field effort was called into question at times.
That led to questions about how Pickens would fit in with the Cowboys, perhaps the most high-profile and highly-scrutinized team in the NFL. Prescott dismissed those questions, as well as rumblings about the receiver’s reputation, saying Pickens has been an excellent teammate since landing in Dallas. He also called Dallas’ trade for Pickens “monumental.”
“I think that’s why you should never really listen to what somebody else says about somebody,” Prescott said Thursday. “I think you should find out for yourself who they are and allow them to reveal their character to you. The guy’s been great. He’s been phenomenal.”
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Pickens concurred and noting his connections with Prescott has continued to blossom throughout the spring offseason program, which concluded on Thursday.
“He’s [Prescott] controlling everything. All the stuff, all the plays are based on him. I get to see how he wants to run his stuff, how Schotty [head coach Brian Schottenheimer] is calling it. Everything is connecting slowly but surely,” Pickens said Wednesday.
Prescott also made sure to point out that Pickens has been extremely punctual.
“I think you should … find out for yourself who they are and allow them to reveal their character to you. The guy, he’s been great, he’s been phenomenal,” Prescott said. “He’s a guy that loves football, loves his teammates. He’s been excited every day that he’s been here. He’s been early. So no concerns on the personal matters of GP and anything about. Just super excited that he’s on our team. He’s one of us. He’s a brother and it’s just about continuing to grow and make sure we’re putting the best out there. That’s his approach.”
Not only has Pickens been punctual, but Schottenheimer noted on Thursday that Pickens was the last player off the practice field for the team’s walkthrough — the final practice before the Cowboys break prior to training camp.
“He comes to work every day with a smile on his face,” Schottenheimer said Thursday. “He’s very personal when you get to know him. I love being around him. I love talking to him about life. I love shooting baskets against him. I love just watching him. … He’s been amazing. He was the last guy to leave the practice field today. I think that speaks volumes of the fact that he’s excited about what we’re building. I’m a big GP fan.”
The 24-year-old has caught 174 passes for 2,841 yards and 12 touchdowns in his young career, and across the last two seasons, Pickens averaged 16.7 yards per catch across, a figure that leads the entire NFL among 61 players with at least 110 catches since 2023. If the Cowboys can get the most out of Pickens going deep and by expanding his route tree, he would be a high-flying offensive weapon to pair alongside All-Pro receiver CeeDee Lamb.
