The Dallas Cowboys made a huge offseason turnaround by trading for George Pickens. The reaction didn’t come without controversy, thanks to Pickens’ on-field antics and often problematic attitude.

The hope is that Pickens just needed a chance of scenery and more consistent quarterback play. With 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers taking over as QB1 of the Pittsburgh Steelers, it looks like Dallas did Pickens a huge favor.

Pickens did more than just come in at the perfect time. He’s going to strenghten the WR depth entirely. Cowboys insider Bryan Broaddus used the Pickens addition to say the quiet part out loud about fourth-year pro Jalen Tolbert: That if Tolbert popped off last season, the team wouldn’t have needed Pickens.

“If Tolbert was a consistent player, you think (the Cowboys) would’ve went and got Pickens?” Broaddus asked on his YouTube show with Voch Lombardi. “Consistent when I mean, play after play, down after down, game after game, that kind of thing.”

Pickens signing shows that Cowboys don’t have full faith in Tolbert

While it might be unfair to compare Tolbert and Pickens, Broaddus went into perspective with Voch Lombardi on Dallas needing a weapon for Dak Prescott in his 10th season.

His comments might be harsh, but at the end of the day you have to win games in the NFL and Pickens as WR2 gives the Cowboys the best chance to do that relative to Tolbert.

For what it’s worth, Tolbert is going to be in his fourth season and coming off of by far his most productive season yet.

However, it still wasn’t enough to prevent CeeDee Lamb from putting the offense on his back. Even when Lamb injured his shoulder, he still carried the team’s receivers.

Read more: Cowboys 2026 mock draft gives Dak Prescott a terrifying George Pickens replacement

It was apparent a new weapon was needed, which explains why they were all-in on drafting Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan.

Even though Tolbert has played in all 17 regular season games in back-to-back years, Jerry Jones knew something else had to be done.

It’s not Tolbert’s fault that he was the odd man out of the conversation. He actually played quite well last year. The WR depth just got badly exposed in 2024, hence the Pickens trade.

If Tolbert does expand on his breakout year, it could result in Prescott having three receivers playing at the top of their respective games.