The Dallas Cowboys are six games into the 2026 slate, and while the numbers on star receiver George Pickens are not bad–33 catches and 428 yards–there is a sense that he has yet to truly have a breakout game, the kind of performance we saw multiple times from him last year. This time around, it seems that Pickens only gets going when the Cowboys are behind in the game, too far behind for him to make the kind of impact he did in 2025. For much of the season, the reasoning for that has been that Pickens is getting extra attention from defenses.
But, realistically, star receivers of all stripes get extra attention from defenses, and good teams still find ways to break those stars free. Pickens was coming off what many said was the best training camp of any Cowboys player, with a focus on his free agency this winter, in which he hopes to be paid true WR1 money. But if Pickens is ready for the big numbers, why have the Cowboys struggled to get the ball to him?
Cowboys Must do More to Feed George Pickens
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer has largely stuck by the excuse that Pickens has been double-teamed too much to be effective. But on Monday, meeting with reporters, he finally acknowledged that the team is not doing enough to get Pickens the ball.
“We need to, we need to, that’s fair,” Schottenheimer said when asked why they’re not scheming more plays for Pickens. “We need to move him around more. Again, I think when you look at GP he is able to move around, I think we just gotta do a better job, we need to move him around more with the design. Put him in different spots. But they are certainly paying attention to him, they are certainly finding him. This team was no different. You can see them pointing and calling him out.
“That’s a sign of respect. What you love about GP is his ability to keep working and find ways to make plays late.”
Brian Schottenheimer: ‘Haven’t Handled Blitz Very Well’
One of the issues that Schottenheimer also acknowledged was that the Cowboys are being blitzed more than usual, in part because they’ve been trailing in games. But Pickens was one of the best slant-route runners in the NFL last year, and it remains odd that Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott can’t find him on those quick-hitters that were so successful in 2025.
Said Schottenheimer when asked about the difficulties with the blitz: “A lot of different things. No. 1, I think we have put ourselves behind in games the last two games, we have been playing second-half catch-up, if you will. When you play second-half catch-up, it is going to affect a lot of things—it is going to affect your running attempts, it is going to affect how many times teams blitz you and pressure you, so I think that is the No. 1 thing. There are things we need to clean up from a blitz pick-up standpoint. … We haven’t handled it very well.”
Cowboys Make Admission on George Pickens Struggles