From the moment that the Dallas Cowboys acquired wide receiver George Pickens from the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a third-round pick, Steelers fans and analysts alike were quick to warn Dallas fans about Pickens. He's a locker room problem. He's a prima donna. He's a diva. That's all been stated in various forms over the weeks since the deal transpired. Yet, new Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer is already showing the difference: Dallas is confident they'll get the best of Pickens because they're giving him the nurturing environment to grow that Pittsburgh never offered.
Throughout Mike Tomlin's tenure with the Steelers, he's dealt with big personalities and has largely gotten the best out of them. Sure, there always came a time with the likes of Antonio Brown, Le'Veon Bell, Diontae Johnson and so on when the marriage had run its course. However, Pickens seemed like the outlier in that the wide receiver, or at least as people in Pittsburgh painted it, couldn't get out of his own way.
Rather than trying something different than the hard-ass approach we often see from Tomlin and the Steelers deploy, Pittsburgh continued that methodology to try and get Pickens to grow. So it's a stark contrast to hear Schottenheimer preach a different tune. After the first day of OTAs and being on the field on Tuesday, the Cowboys head coach was propping his new wide receiver up, praising his work ethic and attention to detail in meetings, even while noting that he wasn't up to speed with veterans, per Jon Machota of The Athletic ($).
“My time with him has been just incredible. I think we were all on board (with the trade). We’re always trying to find the right pieces and good pieces, and I think we’re really excited about what he brings as a football player. But I see a guy that’s maturing. I see a guy that we’re excited to put out there and watch him grow and get better.
“He’s obviously a tremendous athlete, but I love watching him in meetings, because in meetings, he’s been so dialed in, taking great notes. He knows he’s a little bit behind, not a lot, but a little bit behind in terms of what the veterans are doing. But intentionality in the meeting room has been really cool for me to see.”
That change in approach for Pickens could make all of the difference for Pickens and this trade working out for Dallas.
Cowboys finally giving George Pickens the grace that the Steelers never did
Whether it was the brutal Steelers quarterback situations that Pickens had to deal with, the general pressure that comes with the franchise, Tomlin's personality, or something else combined with these things, one thing that stood out with how Pittsburgh handled the receiver was the lack of grace. Maybe early in his career there were some instances of that, but particularly in the past year, it's been an expectation for the talented pass-catcher to be a model professional at all times.
Consider this, though: Pickens was enigmatic at Georgia before ever hitting the NFL. Balancing and working with his personality was always important in order to mine the best out of him. The Steelers knew they were drafting a player who could be challenging for coaches when they selected him in the second round in 2022.
Yet, they never modified that approach. It was always the demand of perfection and Steelers culture, not to nurture habits for the young receiver, praising the positives that the coaches see but packaging in asking for more in there. You know, like what Schottenheimer is doing immediately with the Cowboys.
Perhaps the first sign that Pickens isn't what he's been painted by Steelers media came right after the trade. So many fans were expecting the receiver to take a shot at his former team given how vocally malcontent he's behaved in the past. Instead, he was gracious for his past and new opportunities and handled it like a professional. That speaks volumes that he might simply be miscast as to how much of a problem he is.
This isn't to saying that the Cowboys aren't going to experience some sort of speed bumps with Pickens. Hell, that can happen with any player, and Pickens is still a big personality who shows raw emotion. At the same time, he's also 24 years old and still maturing. Schottenheimer clearly seems to grasp this and is handling the start to the receiver's tenure in Dallas like someone who he's going to help both mature and get better as a player.
On some level, this might seem oversimplified — but a large part of that is the fact that fans often forget a simple truth about professional athletes: They're humans too. Perhaps NFL Network's Jane Slater said it best, responding to Pickens' start at OTAs, noting how much it would mean to average joe who was called a "cancer" at his previous job to now be shown grace and positivity from his bosses. Yes, it's professional football, but that doesn't take out the human element of it being a job as well, and anyone in Pickens' situation with his demeanor would respond well to the stark change in approach.
Again, there's a lot of offseason and a lot of season left ahead with Pickens and the Cowboys. However, it's impossible not to notice how well the receiver seems to be gelling with everyone in Dallas after he was considered such a problem in Pittsburgh. Perhaps it's not a matter of nature but, rather, a matter of nurture — and Schottenheimer would seemingly agree.