For Dallas Cowboys star receiver George Pickens, it has not been a productive start to the 2026 season, at least on the stat sheet. Pickens has tallied nine catches in the first two games of the season–he is getting opportunities–but he has not been able to shake anything deep, and has just 68 yards without a touchdown.
That’s something of a surprise, because Pickens was expected to be a top-flight weapon coming into the year, a season in which he was seeking to back up the 93 catches and 1,429 yards he posted in 2025. For him, it’s especially important–after being hit with the one-year franchise tag worth $27.3 million, Pickens will get another chance at a long-term deal in NFL free agency next offseason.
But he needs big numbers to get the big deal.
George Pickens Posts 50 Cent Meme
It is only two games, and there is plenty of time for Pickens to shine again for the Cowboys. He has drawn a lot more double-team coverage, which has allowed CeeDee Lamb to break out in the first two games (he has three touchdowns), but at some point, Pickens will want to get his catches, his yardage, his touchdowns.
In that vein, there was an odd post for Pickens on Instagram this week, one that could be read as a plea to the Cowboys to get him the ball down the field more.
Pickens posted a meme of the rapper 50 Cent saying: “I don’t care about (expletive) no more. You can say I am worse, because I really don’t give a (expletive). Now, it’s more like, I know that I am not in control of everything. If you believe in God, you think God got a plan for you. And that you’re not in control over that.”
Cowboys Exploiting Double Teams
Indeed, Pickens is not in control over where the ball goes in the Cowboys offense. He would like it to find him more often, obviously. But he said, at least publicly, that he is OK with getting shut down by double-teams because it creates opportunity elsewhere. The Cowboys did, after all, score 37 points vs. the Commanders.
“Coordinators whether they stay on the same team they were on last year or go to a new team, they definitely scheme or schematically scheme something up for me and CeeDee …” Pickens said, via the team website.
“That’s like a 40, 50 yard gain just off of two guys watching me. I think we scored that same drive. Definitely. And that’s engineering victory to bigger and better things, so yeah, definitely.”
Cowboys’ George Pickens Raises Questions With Cryptic Post