Former Cowboys coach and quarterback Jason Garrett still pulls for all things Dallas, of course, but as an analyst, he has always played things straight. And while acknowledging that the Cowboys are rolling the dice on adding star receiver George Pickens from the Steelers, he said he has a lot of faith in the notion that it will work.
And that faith stems from No. 4.
“If you look at their team, I think they got a lot of good weapons,” Garrett told Pro Football Talk. “For me, the whole thing works because of the quarterback. Dak (Prescott) can work with anybody, he’ll bring the best out in everybody.”
Cowboys Badly Need a WR2
That’s a promising notion for a Cowboys team that has been mostly quiet in back-to-back offseasons. But making a splashy trade for Pickens has given fans some hope–he could be a ballast against defenses putting too much attention on star CeeDee Lamb, one of the top WR1s in the game. Lamb has never played with a WR2 of Pickens’ quality.
Still, Pickens ran afoul of coach Mike Tomlin last year, and played only 14 games. Keeping his focus in the right places will be a challenge. Even with some down weeks, he racked up 900 yards receiving in 2024, after having tallied 1,140 yards in 2023. Those numbers came with the likes of Justin Fields, Russ Wilson, Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph as his quarterbacks.
Last year’s No. 2 receiver, Jalen Tolbert, totaled 610 yards on 49 catches.
Jerry Jones ‘Loves’ George Pickens: Garrett
For the Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones, Garrett said, talent trumps reported character issues.
“This is the kind of guy that Jerry Jones loves,” Garrett said. “Jerry Jones loves the George Pickens. He loves the guy who’s talented, maybe troubled somewhere else. We can try to create the right environment for him and get the most out of him.
“That’s why the Cowboys through the years have picked a lot of guys that were deemed to be first-round talent in the second round. Maybe they had an injury, maybe they had a character flaw. Let’s give this guy a chance and see if we can get the best out of him.”
But Garrett also said it will be incumbent on Pickens to bond with Prescott, who is coming back from missing nine games with a hamstring injury last year. Prescott, typically, makes certain he works with receivers in the offseason.
“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.”
