George Pickens’ start with the Cowboys can go from great to near perfect in Week 7 matchup vs Commanders
George Pickens can make his epic start with the Cowboys a historic one on Sunday.
The Dallas Cowboys admittedly weren’t expecting as much from George Pickens as he’s given them through six weeks. The wide receiver has delivered on the field and off of it. And the best part? The production has been tangible through touchdowns.
Since Week 2, Pickens has scored a touchdown in every game he’s played. He has two performances of 130+ receiving yards and six touchdowns in the last five weeks. It’s been a great start. But it can go from that to near perfect with in Week 7 if he scores another touchdown.
Per NFL Communications, “In Week 7, Pickens can become the fifth player in the Super Bowl era with a touchdown reception in six of his first seven games with a team, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers Randy Moss (with New England) and Terrell Owens (with Philadelphia) as well as Donte’ Stallworth (with New Orleans) and Wes Welker (with Denver).”
Pickens has proven that’s no difficult task as he’s tied for the lead in touchdowns this season. And with the way Dak Prescott is playing, receiving touchdowns are aplenty. But CeeDee Lamb is trending toward playing on Sunday, which could make targets be fewer for Pickens.
Will CeeDee Lamb’s return hurt or harm Pickens’ production?
Logic alone tells us Pickens’ targets will go down so it’s only fair to assume his numbers will take a hit. After all, in each of his two biggest games of the year he was targeted 11 times. And yet, Pickens was targeted nine times in Week 2 against the New York Giants. I wouldn’t expect his numbers to fall off a cliff.
More importantly, Pickens has established that it would be foolish not to get him the football. Not only has he made spectacular catches but he’s shown his knack for getting yards after the catch by breaking tackles or hurdling over defenders a la 2016 Ezekiel Elliott.
Not to mention, defenses will go a long way in dictating who gets the football. Take Week 7, for example. If Dan Quinn decides Lamb should be bracketed on Sunday, the Cowboys need to target Pickens one-on-ine in what’s likely going to be a mismatch on the outside. If Washington brackets both (unlikely based on how Quinn calls defense), the Cowboys will likely run on their productive run game and other pass-catchers like tight end Jake Ferguson.
Overall, I’m still bullish on Pickens’ future production with Lamb on the field. A key aspect of his development on the Cowboys was shown last weekend when he took several snaps from the slot. Prescott cited his understanding of the offense as a big reason for his monster performance in Carolina. Let’s see if he can etch his name in history as one of the best “new” wide outs for a team.
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