OXNARD, Calif. — George Pickens said the double teams are arriving earlier this season, and he noticed it against the New Orleans Saints on Tuesday. The Dallas Cowboys receiver was asked Thursday whether he has put the NFL on notice.
“I think what it was, when we played the Saints the other day, I kind of noticed that myself, just knowing that I’m getting more, way more double,” Pickens said. “Like last year I was getting a lot of double team, but now it’s like first play double, you see what I mean, because they don’t want to really truly take a chance.”
Pickens caught 93 passes for 1,429 yards and 9 touchdowns in his first Dallas season, career highs in all three. He made his first Pro Bowl and was named second-team All-Pro.
He is playing this year on a $27.3 million franchise tag, the only player in the NFL on one.
Year Two In The Offense
Pickens said the learning curve is behind him.
“Last year I was learning. I was learning the plays while trying to learn some of the guys,” Pickens explained. “I think I was learning so much to where I was making plays, but now I’m playing faster.”
He pointed to spring workouts as the moment he settled in, and said the comfort comes from a second year in the system and from knowing his teammates. He noted that Dallas has a number of new players on defense.
Dak Prescott said Thursday that Pickens has done everything the Cowboys have asked and has put himself in a good position leaving Oxnard. Prescott also said the next step involves how Dallas uses him, including as a decoy, and how defenses have to account for him and CeeDee Lamb at the same time.
Lamb caught 75 passes for 1,077 yards and 3 touchdowns in 14 games last season. A high ankle sprain and a concussion cost him time.
How He Got Here
Pittsburgh drafted Pickens in the second round, 52nd overall, in 2022 out of Georgia. The Steelers traded him to Dallas before the 2025 season along with a 2027 sixth-round pick, for a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder.
He has 267 career receptions for 4,270 yards and 21 touchdowns. He was the offensive MVP of the Pro Bowl on Feb. 3.
Dallas placed the franchise tag on him in February, and he signed the one-year tender on April 29. Stephen Jones said before the draft that there would be no negotiations on a long-term deal. The July 15 deadline for tagged players to sign multiyear contracts passed without one.
Pickens turns 26 in March and can reach unrestricted free agency in 2027.
The Cowboys Are Done In Oxnard
Tuesday’s joint practice against the Saints was the second of camp for Dallas. The NFL fined the Cowboys and the Saints $500,000 each Thursday afternoon for what happened in that session, and Jerry Jones said the club will appeal.
Pickens said the final Oxnard practice produced more work than the first day of camp.
Dallas plays at the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday and holds open practices at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco on Aug. 25 and Aug. 26. The preseason ends against the Saints at AT&T Stadium on Friday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m. CT.
