{"id":62338,"date":"2025-06-18T09:31:37","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T09:31:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=62338"},"modified":"2025-06-18T09:31:37","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T09:31:37","slug":"cowboys-trade-named-a-favorite-offseason-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=62338","title":{"rendered":"Cowboys Trade Named a &#8216;Favorite&#8217; Offseason Move"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/George-Pickens-1-e1750219002318.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/George-Pickens-1-e1750219002318.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/George-Pickens-1-e1750219002318.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/George-Pickens-1-e1750219002318.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Cowboys Trade Named a 'Favorite' Offseason Move\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p>George Pickens heading to the Dallas Cowboys could be one of the best moves of the offseason.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Dallas Cowboys pulled one of the biggest trades of the offseason with wide receiver George Pickens, and that move is receiving praise around the NFL.<\/p>\n<p>ESPN\u2019s Jeremy Fowler delved into that and noted a coach and an AFC personnel executive who looked favorably on the Cowboys trade. Dallas acquired Pickens in a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers last month, and the Cowboys only had to give up a third-round pick for next year and a 2027 fifth-round pick in the process.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDealing with CeeDee [Lamb] and him opens things up for them,\u201d an NFC East coach told ESPN via Fowler.<\/p>\n<p>Dallas now has a strong one-two punch in the passing game with Pickens teaming up with Lamb. The unnamed AFC personnel executive sees that, too, but noted one concern.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019ll be a big piece there,\u201d the AFC personnel executive told ESPN. \u201cWhen he\u2019s covered, he\u2019s really open. I know the concerns are there, but I think having an already established passing game with veterans to help him along, and the fact he\u2019s in a contract year, will help keep him in line. If you can tap into what he can do fully, his major ability will shine through.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pickens had 174 receptions for 2,841 yards and 12 touchdowns in his three seasons with the Steelers.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Insider Details How Steelers Were Easy Pickings For Cowboys Trade<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_5392438\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/George-Pickens-2-1.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 782px) 100vw, 782px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/George-Pickens-2-1.jpg 4499w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/George-Pickens-2-1.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/George-Pickens-2-1.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/George-Pickens-2-1.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/George-Pickens-2-1.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/George-Pickens-2-1.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/George-Pickens-2-1.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/George-Pickens-2-1.jpg?resize=782,521 782w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/George-Pickens-2-1.jpg?resize=780,520 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/George-Pickens-2-1.jpg?resize=425,283 425w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/George-Pickens-2-1.jpg?resize=660,440 660w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/George-Pickens-2-1.jpg?resize=254,169 254w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/George-Pickens-2-1.jpg?resize=270,180 270w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/George-Pickens-2-1.jpg?resize=225,150 225w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/George-Pickens-2-1.jpg?resize=242,161 242w\" alt=\"Cowboys Trade Named a 'Favorite' Offseason Move\" width=\"782\" height=\"521\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5392438\" data-lazy-load=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5392438\">GettyGeorge Pickens could be a dynamic second receiver for the Cowboys this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Pittsburgh had reasons to move on from Pickens as Fowler noted, and the Cowboys \u201cleaned into a certain strategy more than other team\u201d that was interested in the veteran wideout.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Cowboys are willing to relinquish draft capital for high-upside talent on rookie contracts,\u201d Fowler wrote. \u201cThe Cowboys executed three trades in this realm, acquiring Buffalo Bills cornerback Kaiir Elam, New England Patriots quarterback\u00a0Joe Milton III and now Pickens, who has the talent to become a top-10 receiver.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know the Pickens trade might be a winner when people in the NFC East mention, unprompted, that the acquisition might just shift the dynamic of the Cowboys\u2019 offense,\u201d Fowler added.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer Likes What He Sees From George Pickens<\/h2>\n<p>Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer has a positive impression already of Pickens with minicamp in the rearview mirror.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe shows up with energy, with a smile, and ready to work,\u201d Schottenheimer told reporters on June 13. \u201cYou can\u2019t ask for more from a guy learning a new system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also a big season for Pickens individually since it is a contract year for him. He will make $3.65 million with the Cowboys this year before he potentially becomes an unrestricted free agent next March.<\/p>\n<p>Pickens wants to make the most of the opportunity, and recognizes that the Cowboys\u2019 overall speed will impact his opportunities with the playbook.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s probably the first time since college I\u2019ve played with this many fast guys,\u201d Pickens told reporters on June 11. \u201cWhen the whole team\u2019s fast, the scheme naturally adjusts. And that changes what I can do on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pickens can also help the Cowboys boast one of the best wideout tandems in the league with Lamb this season in the process.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew Davis covers the NFL, WNBA and college sports for Heavy.com. As a contributing writer to the StarTribune, he has also covered Minnesota prep sports since 2016. More about Matthew Davis<\/p>\n<h2>More Heavy on Cowboys<\/h2>\n<p>Loading more stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Dallas Cowboys made a positive impression around the league amid the trade for former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":62341,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cowboys Trade Named a &#039;Favorite&#039; Offseason Move - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=62338\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cowboys Trade Named a &#039;Favorite&#039; 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