Through the first two weeks of a very important year for Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens, the returns are not great. Pickens is coming off a monster 2025 season in which he went for 1,429 yards on 93 catches, not only setting a career high but also logging the fourth-most receiving yards in a season in franchise history. The Cowboys, of course, did not reward him with the long-term contract that he badly wanted, instead giving him the $27 million franchise tag for one year.
That will force Pickens to back up his breakout 2025 with another great season in 2026, and the expectation was that he would do just that, prove himself a worthy WR1 in the NFL and set himself up for a massive free-agent payday next winter, perhaps in the range of $40 million per year.
Just 68 Yards for George Pickens
But that’s getting ahead of ourselves. Instead, what we’ve seen from Pickens in 2026 is a big dropped pass (one of two) in Week 1 against the Giants, and very modest numbers as he repeatedly draws double-team attention from defenses that have chosen to focus on him rather than CeeDee Lamb.
The numbers: Pickens has nine catches for 68 yards, an average of 7.6 yards per catch. That’s less than half the 15.4 yards he averaged per catch in 2025. The longest play for Pickens this season has been for 12 yards. He’s not going to get paid how he wants to get paid with that kind of production.
Cowboys Not Concerned About George Pickens
Now, the good news: This is probably a short-term lull for Pickens, and he could be primed to break out again soon. That’s how ESPN Cowboys beat writer Todd Archer sees it. He identified the “surprise” trend of Pickens’ limited output, and labeled it a, “mirage.”
He noted: “Mirage. The wide receiver entered the season averaging 16 yards per catch. Last season, he averaged 15.4 yards per catch and had 22 catches of at least 20 yards. So far, opposing defenses are keeping the lid on Pickens, but he did have two drops in Week 1. After those drops against the Giants, Dallas coach Brian Schottenheimer stressed everything with Pickens will be ‘fine.'”‘ And a two-game sample hasn’t changed that belief.
Cowboys Have Gotten the Ball to CeeDee Lamb
Schottenheimer, indeed, told Cowboys media that Pickens has played well but jsut has not had the big plays that have been going to Lamb. But that should change.
From the coach: “Of course, want to get him and CeeDee the ball. I think CeeDee’s playing great. I think George is playing really well. I mean, some of the catches he made yesterday were really big-time plays in big-time situations for us. Third-and-1, he catches the over route, gets smacked, catches a slant early.
“He just didn’t have the highlight-type catches and the explosive catches and things like that. But he draws a lot of attention out there. But believe me, we’re looking for ways to continue to get those guys the ball.”
Cowboys’ George Pickens Gets Encouraging Prediction Amid Slow Start