A year after going for 93 catches and 1,429 yards receiving–third-most in the league and the fourth-most in Dallas Cowboys franchise history–star receiver George Pickens is open to making some changes and letting the offensive brain trust of coordinator Klayton Adams and head coach Brian Schottenheimer do some tinkering. Sure, he wants to repeat the kind of performance he put forth in 2025, but he knows that simply doing the same things he did that year is not going to be particularly effective.
The Cowboys came into this offseason with plans to adjust how they use Pickens. And he is all for it, because he foresees it as trouble for defenses.
Asked how things might be different, Pickens said, “More explosive. When it comes to the game, it is like Klayton (Adams) is saying—you can have two No. 1s, and a good running back and a good O-Line, with certain defensive schemes that they played, and that’s trouble, they’re gonna be worried about a lot of things. So, I definitely agree with Klayton. Getting better every day and adding new stuff to plays.”
Cowboys Looking to Move George Pickens More
All right, but what new stuff are the Cowboys cooking up? Head coach Brian Schottenheimer said this spring that the goal would be to move Pickens around more, to get him into different spots on the line rather than just lining him up as an X on the outside. Lamb has gotten used to doing that frequently, but the Cowboys would be able to give defenses new and unexpected wrinkles.
As Joseph Hoyt of The Dallas Morning News pointed out, “Pickens lined up in the slot just under 8% of the time he was on the field in 2025, according to Pro Football Focus. Compare that to Lamb, who was in the slot just under 35% of his snaps. The Cowboys want Pickens to increase his time in the slot and his time in motion.”
Cowboys Offense Is Explosive
That should benefit everyone in the offense–it could free up Lamb more if teams focus on Pickens in the slot, it could even free up tight end Jake Ferguson and No. 3 receiver Ryan Flournoy. There’s even some benefit for running back Javonte Williams or his backup, if Pickens can drag defenders with him in motion and create space for running plays.
“Super excited, just to move guys around,” Pickens said. “Just implementing a lot of stuff to different plays with having me and CeeDee and Javonte and Dak—that’s going to open up a lot of stuff. …
“We’re always talking how we can improve on what we did in 2025, so just definitely trying to get better, me and him. I can’t really put no limitations on me, because I don’t even know. I can do something I don’t even know.”
George Pickens Hoping to Improve ‘Every Year’
Pickens made clear that his goal for the season is to help the Cowboys to the Super Bowl–not exactly a modest goal, but not a wild impossibility, either. Some of that will involve Pickens improving individually, but Pickens said that goal is not new for him going into Year 5 of his career.
“Every year,” he said. “Year 10, Year 11. If you want to be good at a game, if you used to play a game for free. See, that’s a different mindset now. When it comes to stipulations, that’s up to a person.”
Cowboys’ George Pickens Sees ‘Trouble’ With Offensive Change