Stephen Jones has very high expectations for George Pickens ahead of his first season in Dallas.
Jones delivered some high praise for the wide receiver Monday, saying the Cowboys see Pickens as more than a WR2. About a week ago, the Cowboys landed Pickens through a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Jones also likened Pickens to a former Cowboys fan favorite.
“He reminds [us] a lot in our building of Dez Bryant in terms of his competitiveness and what he brings to the field, his edge,” the Cowboys chief operating officer and co-owner told SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio. “As I said, we were looking at the draft as a way to look at filling that need. When it didn’t happen we had some opportunities around the league that we were looking at. And this one at the end of the day made the most sense.”
While the Cowboys considered addressing their need at WR2 through the NFL draft, Pickens’ NFL experience was a key selling point for the franchise. Pickens, 24, posted at least 50 receptions, 800 yards and three touchdowns in each of his three seasons with the Steelers.
Pickens adds talent to the Cowboys’ wide receiver position, but he also comes with a few question marks. Jones didn’t seem too worried when asked if the team had concerns over Pickens’ on- and off-field conduct.
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“Well, I’ll say it again, he’s an uber competitor, and we had one in Dez Bryant who was the same way. I mean, he just couldn’t get enough,” Jones said. “And boy, when the lights came on and his cleats hit the turf, he was a different guy. And it feels like George is going to be that way.
“He certainly sometimes plays with high emotion and that can, as we all know, when you’re playing sports and you’re competing and you’re playing with a lot of emotion, sometimes you can make a wrong decision here and there. But, we had that with Dez, but certainly he knows he wants to continue to get his hands around that, just like Dez worked at it all the time.”
According to Jones, seeing how Pickens was embraced by teammates was part of the Cowboys’ pre-trade homework. Jones is expecting Pickens to bring an edge and new energy to the team for the 2025 campaign.
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