Dallas Adds Receiver in George Pickens, Fantasy Reaction

When the 2025 NFL Draft came and went without the Dallas Cowboys adding any receiving help, the popular belief was that the team would still make a move at the position. That apparently came to fruition Monday, with the Cowboys reportedly trading for now-former Pittsburgh Steeler George Pickens. The trade, expected to be finalized Wednesday, is for draft compensation, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Pickens, who turned 24 in March, was a second-round pick of the Steelers in 2022. He’s had at least 800 yards in all three of his NFL seasons, peaking in 2023 with 1,140 yards and 5 touchdowns, a WR29 finish in PPR leagues. Per FTN StatsHub, Pickens has managed 2.2 yards per route run each of the last two years, good for 17^th among qualified receivers in 2023 and 25^th last year.

He lands in Dallas, where he’ll step in as the clear No. 2 receiver behind CeeDee Lamb The Cowboys depth chart behind Lamb and Pickens has Jalen Tolbert and Jonathan Mingo, plus TE Jake Ferguson, so even if Lamb gets his normal 150-plus targets, there should be plenty of work for Pickens. He has topped 100 targets each of the last two years, and don’t be surprised if he sneaks over the line again in 2025. Pickens did his best work when he had a good running mate in Diontae Johnson in Pittsburgh, so he could offer the same fantasy promise in Dallas behind Lamb, a WR3 with plenty of weekly upside.

The addition should be good for Dallas QB Dak Prescott as well, who has a second high-upside target beyond Lamb. The Cowboys averaged 27.4 points per game in Weeks 12-16 last year, then totaled only 26 points in their final two games after Lamb was shut down for the season. He’s the engine that makes the offense go, but Dallas having a second receiver worth throwing too takes some of the burden off the star and gives Prescott more options.

Back in Pittsburgh, the Steelers added DK Metcalf this offseason in a trade with the Seahawks, apparently making Pickens expendable. That said, the depth chart behind Metcalf now featured Calvin Austin III, Robert Woods, Roman Wilson and others, so this isn’t much to write home about. And as of now, the quarterback throwing the ball to those receivers is Mason Rudolph or fifth-round rookie Will Howard, although it’s the general belief that the team will be adding Aaron Rodgers some time before ethe season. Still, there are too many unknowns to really guess what this all means for the Pittsburgh offense, except that Metcalf and incumbent starting TE Pat Freiermuth should command a whole lot of targets.