FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer plans to change the Dallas offense by roughly 15% to 25% from last season, he told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler for a Week 1 notebook published this week. Part of that change is moving George Pickens around the formation.
The tweaks are meant to keep sophisticated defenses guessing, Schottenheimer told Fowler. Pickens is a traditional outside receiver entering a key stretch of his career on the franchise tag.
“He can play multiple spots,” Schottenheimer said. “I know in Pittsburgh he got frustrated a little bit because he was always in one spot. He was always the X. We move him around a bunch. But the sky is the limit for GP.”
Pickens spent three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who drafted him in the second round in 2022. Dallas acquired him in May 2025 for a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick, with a 2027 sixth-round pick coming back to the Cowboys.
In his first season with Dallas, Pickens caught 93 passes for 1,429 yards and 9 touchdowns. He made his first Pro Bowl. CeeDee Lamb added 1,077 receiving yards, and the Cowboys finished second in the league in passing yards.
Dak Prescott threw for 4,552 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Dallas still went 7-9-1 and missed the playoffs for a second straight year.
Brian Schottenheimer’s Plan To Move George Pickens Around
At mandatory minicamp in June, Schottenheimer joked that reporters asking about Pickens’ slants every week last season had defenses jumping inside on the route by the end of the year.
“As we talk about evolving, I would say the biggest thing we’re doing is we want to move George around more,” Schottenheimer explained. “He’s not just going to live at X. He doesn’t like that anyways. We want to put him in the slot some, we want to get him isolated some to the front side, the same side as the tight end.”
Klayton Adams is back for a second season as offensive coordinator. Dallas averaged 391.9 yards per game in 2025, second in the NFL. The Cowboys scored 471 points.
Late in July, Schottenheimer said Pickens was as dialed in during meetings as he had seen him since the receiver arrived.
George Pickens’ Franchise Tag Figures For 2026 And 2027
Dallas placed the franchise tag on Pickens this offseason. The tag pays him $27.3 million in 2026, which Fowler reported is well below market for a receiver of Pickens’ caliber. A second tag in 2027 would cost around $32.8 million.
Pickens signed the tender in the spring and skipped the voluntary portion of the offseason program. In late April, executive vice president Stephen Jones said Dallas had no intention of trading him.
When Pickens reported for mandatory minicamp in June, the staff kept him out of team drills to ramp him up.
Fowler wrote that Pickens has seemed unfazed by any frustration tied to the tag, and that player and team are in a good place entering the opener.
Dallas opens the season Sunday at the New York Giants. Kickoff at MetLife Stadium is set for 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
