No one was questioning that the Dallas Cowboys acquired a highly talented player in wide receiver George Pickens when they traded a 2026 third-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers after the draft. The big concern with Pickens, however, was his attitude. He was mercurial at Georgia and the Steelers dealt with that as well during his three years in Pittsburgh. If the Cowboys were unable to rein that in, it would've made the trade look suspect in hindsight. However, head coach Brian Schottenheimer is saying that Pickens' attitude is anything but a problem right now.
Schottenheimer was asked about the new Cowboys receiver while speaking with the media on Tuesday and spoke glowingly about how Pickens has committed to the work already and even went as far as to say that he already sees the receiver "maturing" as well, per Jon Machota of The Athletic. Perhaps most importantly, the new head coach in Dallas also noted that Pickens has been "dialed in" for position and teeam meetings to this point.
" “My time with him has been incredible," Schottenheimer said. "We were all on board (with adding him). I see a guy that is maturing. He’s obviously a tremendous athlete."
It might only be May, but this is looking more and more like the Cowboys won the Pickens trade running away.
Cowboys already won the George Pickens trade and Brian Schottenheimer proved it
When the Cowboys made the Pickens trade, there weren't many people wondering if Dallas had made the necessary upgrade at receiver opposite of CeeDee Lamb. While Pickens might not be a second No. 1, there were comparisons to him being a better version of Michael Gallup, who starred for this offense as a secondary option for years prior to injuries derailing his career. The fit is natural and a massive upgrade for Schottenheimer's offense.
Having said that, Pickens being a malcontent and a negative presence in the locker room was in play based on the evidence he put forth in Pittsburgh. His on-field tantrums, accusations of his prickly presence in the locker room, and even the post-trade narrative from Steelers insiders that the organization was simply done dealing with the receiver's immaturity all seemed to put the Cowboys on a slippery slope after this deal.
Yet, we aren't hearing any of that from the Cowboys. Schottenheimer's glowing review of Pickens to this point is just another feather in that cap. Pickens has said all of the right things and appears legitimately excited about playing with Lamb and Dak Prescott. He's also been seen mutliple times already ingratiating himself within the team.
Subsequently, if the off-field issues we saw in Pittsburgh are no longer a problem, then what's the downside for the Cowboys here? They're getting a 24-year-old who might finally be maturing as a professional in the sport and whose talent has never been in doubt. For an offense that needed a shot in the arm, that's the best-case scenario, without question.
We, of course, have to caveat this with the fact that it's only May. We don't know if this feel-good vibe or this newfound maturity will last when Pickens doesn't get the number of targets he thinks he needs in a given week or when there are other points of adversity. Old habits die hard and he could quite easily fall back into the behaviors that were problematic with the Steelers.
All we have to go on for now, though, is that the Pickens trade looks like a steal for the Cowboys. If he's going to be a different person in terms of his attitude, Dallas pulled off a coup, and it then makes perfect sense why Schottenheimer is beaming ear-to-ear talking about the trade now.