• Pickens has been slowly progressing: Despite operating in one of the league’s least consistent offensive environments in Pittsburgh, George Pickens has taken steps forward in each of his first three seasons.

• Pickens lands in a much better situation: The former Georgia receiver now joins a Cowboys offense that threw the ball on nearly 64% of plays in 2024, a top-10 rate league-wide and a significant jump from Pittsburgh’s 25th-ranked pass rate.

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Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

The Dallas Cowboys are on the verge of acquiring wide receiver George Pickens from the Pittsburgh Steelers in a deal centered around draft pick compensation, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The trade is expected to be finalized later today.

Pickens, a former second-round selection out of Georgia in the 2022 NFL Draft, brings a vertical element to a Cowboys offense looking to boost its firepower alongside star pass-catcher CeeDee Lamb.

Despite operating in one of the league’s least consistent offensive environments in Pittsburgh, Pickens has taken steps forward in each of his first three seasons. His 2024 campaign was his most productive yet, as he earned a career-high 78.6 PFF receiving grade, catching 64 of his 105 targets for 987 yards and four touchdowns. He averaged 2.11 yards per route run, 23rd among 112 qualifying receivers.

Pickens’ game is built on big plays and vertical impact. He’s generated a 14.2-yard average target depth since entering the league, an 88th-percentile mark, and he has earned a 95.8 PFF grade on throws targeted 10 or more yards downfield, which ranks 11th among 96 players with at least 50 such targets.

His ability to track the deep ball and win vertically stands out, especially considering the challenges around him in Pittsburgh’s offense.

Those challenges were significant. Only 71.3% of Pickens’ targets over the past three seasons were charted as catchable, a figure that ranks just 66th out of 104 qualifying receivers. Separation has also been difficult to come by — he’s created a step or more of separation on just 65.0% of his targets, and only 44.1% against single coverage — numbers that rank near the bottom of his peer group.

In Dallas, the environment will be markedly different. He now joins a Cowboys offense that threw the ball on nearly 64% of plays in 2024, a top-10 rate league-wide and a significant jump from Pittsburgh’s 25th-ranked pass rate. More importantly, he’ll be catching passes from Dak Prescott, who has delivered an accurate ball on 49.2% of his throws 10 or more yards downfield since 2022—fifth-best among qualifying quarterbacks behind Joe Burrow, Geno Smith, Jared Goff and Jalen Hurts.

With more volume, more accuracy and more room to operate, Pickens could be poised for a career year in Dallas. If he capitalizes on his downfield strengths with Prescott delivering the ball, the Cowboys may have landed a high-upside WR2 with the potential to tilt the field every time he’s targeted.