Cowboys news: George Pickens talks Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb

George Pickens vows to ‘work everyday’ to make ‘winning culture’ happen for Cowboys – Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com
The newest Cowboy discusses his new team.

“I feel great,” said the former second-round pick. “I like the mojo here. I like the swag. There’s a lot of new players I’ve been meeting.

“[We’ve] got a great thing going, for sure.”

It’s a rare blockbuster trade for Dallas, a team that often shies away from such things, their last being to acquire Amari Cooper in 2018, but keeping in the vein of hoping to resolve a dire need at wide receiver. This time around, it’s All-Pro wideout CeeDee Lamb sitting atop the throne and Pickens, who was a human highlight reel and the No. 1 target for the Steelers (ideally, anyway), understands he’s brought in to create a tandem.

Seeing as he and Lamb have a longstanding personal relationship that predates the trade, something Lamb hinted at with a waving gif on social media only hours ahead of the news breaking, the chemistry between the two appears to be prepackaged.

“It excites me a lot,” the 24-year-old said. “In the game of football, we can work off of each other, and that’s why it comes back to building a winning culture.”

Those wondering how he views himself going forward should know he doesn’t subscribe to the WR1/WR2 narrative, or even the 1A/1B variant, pointing to how, when he “was growing up watching football”, elite teams had two elite receivers, far more often than not.

It’s something the Cowboys can attest to, though more historically than recently.

Additionally, in helping to establish an early chemistry, Pickens has not only spoken with Lamb, but also All-Pro quarterback Dak Prescott.

“[He’s a] very prolific QB, and smart, at that,” he said of Prescott. “I’m very glad to work with him.”

George Pickens on how he’ll mesh with CeeDee Lamb: ‘You won’t be able to double everybody’ – Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com

More from Pickens.

“I’m just here to work,” Pickens said. “Whatever role finds me best is where I’m going to find myself.”

For the Steelers, Pickens was the leading receiver in two out of his three NFL seasons after being selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Georgia. While his role will likely be different with the Cowboys alongside Lamb, he’s not one to assign labels like “WR1” or “WR2.”

“You guys making a 1A and 1B and all this, honestly that’s the first time I’ve heard of any of that stuff,” Pickens said. “I feel like two receivers are kind of normal. When I used to watch football, there was always a good receiver and then there was another good receiver on the side of him. I just feel like we’re going to work off each other very well.”

Both Lamb and Pickens have known each other for some time now, working together at times during the offseason through mutual connections.

“Just training,” Pickens said of how he met Lamb. “No recruiting visits or anything like that, but all of us receivers kind of have certain trainers and some of us have the same trainers, so definitely training together previously.”

Now, the two get to train together to play on the same team come Sunday. Pickens feels like he and Lamb’s play styles compliment one another well, with his style being more down the field, contested catch on the outside and Lamb’s being more over the middle, create after the catch.

“It excites me a lot, because in the game of football, we can work off each other,” Pickens said. “There’s no ‘Oh he gets the ball, I get the ball,’ we’re working off each other. That’s why I always come back to building a winning culture, and that’s kind of what we’ve been talking about in Dallas.”

Jason Garrett: Here’s what makes George Pickens the kind of guy Cowboys’ Jerry Jones loves – Chris Amaya, DMN
An old guy weighs in on the new guy.

“If you look at their team, I think they got a lot of good weapons,” Garrett said. “For me, the whole thing works because of the quarterback. Dak can work with anybody, he’ll bring the best out in everybody.”

For Garrett, the quarterback is key to keeping the receiver in line.

“The quarterback is the guy he has to develop the relationship with. He’s the guy he’s going to spend the most time with,” Garrett said. “Pickens knows that if I develop a relationship with Dak, he’s going to throw me the ball. I’m going to have a lot of success, all of that. I think Dak fully understands that and I think that’s the key relationship here.”

George Pickens Is the Right Kind of Vintage Cowboys Move – Mike Pielucci, D-Magazine
Pickens could be CeeDee Lamb’s running mate for the next half decade. He also could flop. Either way, Pielucci explains, at least Dallas is making bold moves again.

This is the rare case where intent matters almost as much as outcome. It is genuinely heartening to see the Cowboys take a swing like this at their most nakedly apathetic, on the back of the latest round of stinginess in free agency, a coaching search they wrote off, and too many negotiations protracted for the sake of ratings. This is a move of risk, of gumption. It is a move that cannot be construed as anything other than a step toward building a winning football team.

Every Pickens highlight grab and every goofy route will signal that maybe, possibly, the bold Dallas Cowboys of yore haven’t disappeared after all. That’s worth paying up for. Perhaps George Pickens will be, too.

Biggest postdraft roster holes for all 32 NFL teams – Aaron Schatz, ESPN
What’s left for the Cowboys to do?

Dallas Cowboys – Position of need: Cornerback depth

The biggest hole was wide receiver, but that was solved with the George Pickens trade. So let’s pivot to cornerback. DaRon Bland and Trevon Diggs are strong starters, but there are questions about whether Diggs will be ready to start the season after surgery late last year to repair cartilage damage in his left knee. There are also health questions about the No. 3 corner, third-round rookie Shavon Revel Jr. He was thought to be a first-round talent but fell because of an ACL tear.

Depth is poor if Diggs or Revel isn’t ready for Week 1. Caelen Carson allowed a horrendous 98.4% coverage DVOA in limited time as a rookie, along with 10.9 yards per target. Kaiir Elam was a first-round pick but washed out in Buffalo. Safety Israel Mukuamu can line up in the slot but played only 18% of Dallas’ defensive snaps last season.

DeMarcus Ware says Micah Parsons is in a different mindset for upcoming season – Lawrence Dow, Star-Telegram
Cowboys legend DeMarcus Ware says he sees a new Micah Parsons.

Pro Football Hall of Famer DeMarcus Ware said he’s never seen Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons as focused as he is now and explained the Penn State product’s growth on the NFL Network’s “Up & Adams” with Kay Adams.

“I mean, I’m talking from a spiritual standpoint, working out, and he’s saying ‘I’m ready to lead,’ I haven’t really heard all three of those things from Micah, and I’m pretty excited just to see what’s going to happen,” said Ware.

[…]

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has talked about Parsons taking on an expanded leadership role during the offseason. Ware said that he and Parsons had spoken throughout the offseason about how the 2021 Defensive Rookie of the Year can improve.

“ It was at Tyron Smith’s retirement, so we were there and talking to him. We’ve been talking ever since, ‘[DeMarcus], what I need to do, bro,’ like how, and from a former player getting that feedback that I want to from him that’s that’s what I’ve been looking for and that’s showing humility from him right he’s the top of the top is showing humility,” said Ware.

Ware credited Parsons’ growth to his attempts to improve in his personal life.

“To be honest with you I think he’s at a point right now to where he’s changing so many things in his life and he’s maturing and what I mean by that is maturing spiritually, maturing from a family standpoint, and saying I want to be a better man,” said Ware,