FRISCO, Texas – Through two games with the Cowboys, wide receiver George Pickens is getting acclimated to Dallas' offense and playing with Dak Prescott.
A large part of that responsibility? Being just one of the many targets that head coach Brian Schottenheimer and Prescott have to choose from in the passing game, which means full effort even when the ball isn't going his way.
"Running every route hard, just trying to stay open for Dak. The ball is going to come, whether it's [Jake Ferguson], CeeDee, [Jalen Tolbert], [KaVontae Turpin], me, so just keep running the routes..."
"You kind of want to run your route anyways, just to get a good picture for the QB. He expects you to be in certain spots, so just running my route for Dak."
Against the Giants, Pickens felt that they exhibited what they could do as an offensive unit with 478 yards of offense and 30 second half points.
"So many guys that we got, and it kind of got put on display in the last game…" Pickens said. "You got so many guys and I feel like that's how offense is supposed to be. I don't want to say you can't stop us, but we're definitely going to come out and dominate."
Pickens has hauled in eight catches for 98 yards to start off the year, with five of those receptions and 68 yards coming last week against the Giants. He also scored his first touchdown as a Cowboy with less than a minute to play in the fourth quarter to give Dallas the lead at the time.
After playing with five different quarterbacks during his three seasons with the Steelers, Pickens gets some stability in catching passes from an established veteran like Prescott, who has already caught his eye with a few throws he can make.
"I think he threw one to [Ferguson] right before we were going to kick the field goal going into halftime, and that was a tight window…" Pickens said. "This is my first time [playing with Prescott,] so I was just like 'Wow.' But he's been doing this for 10 years… I've always watched him, so it's kind of what I expect."
One of the strongest elements of Pickens' game is his abilities as a contested catch receiver. He even has an impact when he's not catching the ball, because defenders at time overcompensate and end up being called for defensive pass interference.
Through the first two games of the year, defenders have been called for pass interference on Pickens three times, and Dallas' offense has gotten a free 79 yards out of it. It's a penalty that Pickens, in a way, relishes being called in his favor.
"I get a lot, because I know if you don't grab me, I'm definitely going to catch it," Pickens said. "That's the thing, but I definitely want to make the catch most of the time. Every time I get a PI, I'm trying to make the catch."
At 6'3, Pickens is a difficult cover for many corners across the league. That said, there's no real science behind how he's able to draw pass interference penalties. What it comes down to is patience.
"It's not really an art, I feel like when you're more calm, because that's kind of what I am, when I'm more calm when the ball is coming, [the DB is] panicking," Pickens said. "It makes it look like [the defense] is kind of over trying. I guess that's the key, to stay calm."
Besides staying calm, another key for Pickens this season has been expanding his route tree. He admitted it wasn't very large in Pittsburgh, but playing in Schottenheimer's system has allowed him to branch out for the better.
"For me personally, it's just like pick your poison," Pickens said. "I can run a slant and I can get a first down, I can go go ball first down, almost touchdown, run an in route, just running all the routes, trying to stay open."
The Chicago Bears will be the next time that'll be tasked with trying to limit Pickens' routes, and the third year wide receiver has been leaning on some of his former teammates and coaches to get some insight on Dallas' next opponent.
"Super valuable for me, because this is my first time ever playing Chicago, so super valuable," Pickens said. "I played with some of the players that they drafted in college, but guys change every year, so super valuable."
