Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens (3) sits on a case at the end of the bench during the second half of their game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, October 18, 2026.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News
FRISCO — The momentum of Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer’s comments earlier this week calling out receiver George Pickens, which drew the ire of fans and some media members, was slowed down by Pickens on Friday.
Schottenheimer said Pickens, the talented wideout who has rehabilitated his image in Dallas, needs to show more effort in blocking on run plays.
Was Schottenheimer throwing Pickens under the bus? Can you throw someone under the bus by telling the truth?
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On Friday afternoon, Pickens turned the comments by Schottenheimer toward something else: the team.
“I feel like, like I said, as a team, I feel like run, pass a lot of stuff,” Pickens said on what needs to improve. “One week it was you guys were saying defense, one week you were saying this. I feel like if you narrow the comments down, you’re talking about the team. So most definitely I feel like as a team, just keep improving.”
Pickens, like most star receivers, is not the best blocker on run plays. But you need receivers to block, especially when a runner is coming off the edge.
It was a point Schottenheimer made Thursday.
“But he needs to understand that he impacts us in the running game as well,” Schottenheimer said. “And he’s got to do the same thing in the run, picking up safeties and blocking corners, just like [running back] Javonte [Williams] does picking up blitzes so he can catch balls. And that’s part of the team-first mindset, and GP does understand that.”
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The start of this 2026 season has lacked energy for Pickens. He has one touchdown through six weeks. He’s caught 33 passes for 428 yards with one 100-yard game.
Last season, Pickens had six touchdown receptions and two 100-yard games in the first six weeks. He also had 32 catches for 525 yards. Part of that success is attributed to the absence of CeeDee Lamb, who injured his ankle in Week 3. With Lamb out, Pickens thrived.
With Lamb healthy for the 2026 season, defenses are targeting Pickens. He gets tight coverage in man-to-man and other times he sees zone coverage with a corner and a safety looking for him.
It’s allowed Lamb to go off. Or has it?
Schottenheimer said the Cowboys can do a better job of moving Pickens around the line of scrimmage to increase his one-on-one opportunities. Pickens can also run better routes to give quarterback Dak Prescott a better target to find.
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The Cowboys can also get Pickens involved early because his energy, according to offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, is “a bright spot for us when he’s got the ball in his hands and when he’s, for lack of a better term, talking s— to the defense. I know that I get excited.”
Getting a player such as Pickens more involved in the offense is a combination of the playcaller, quarterback and receiver. It all has to work, then there’s the defense on the other side trying to stop you.
Finding easy answers for why Pickens hasn’t gotten going like the Cowboys need him to is complex.
To say that Schottenheimer calling him out will create problems isn’t totally fair to the head coach or wide receiver.
You want your head coach to use candor with the media. But at the same time, you wonder how a player receives reported criticism from his coach.
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You hope the player isn’t surprised to hear what the head coach has said to the media about his shortcomings.
Pickens had an interesting answer when asked what he can do to get more involved.
“Well, I’m doing what they tell me to do,” he said. “So do what they tell me to do.”
Pickens is either trying to avoid controversy or taking a veiled shot at the playcaller, in this case Schottenheimer.
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When a team scores 29 points during a two-game losing streak, every comment is magnified. The criticism directed at Pickens intensifies, too.
“It don’t seem to bother him,” Lamb said. “I mean, it’s not like we just sit around and talk about the bad things that people say. So as far as his approach towards coming to work and being the same guy every day, he still does that.”