It didn't take a football savant to realize that George Pickens' talent wasn't maximized in Pittsburgh. However, we're not sure anyone thought he would announce himself as one of the NFL's premier wide receivers after the Dallas Cowboys traded a third-round pick for him in May.
You would be hard-pressed to name two WRs who have been better than Pickens this season. Even during what was a quiet game for the 24-year-old against the Chiefs on Thanksgiving, he came alive late in the second half to help the Cowboys put the game on ice.
The Chiefs bizarrely gave Pickens the requisite cushion to beat them consistently on slants, which is arguably Pickens' most devastating route concept. At some point, teams will attempt to take that away. When asked about just that, Pickens basically dared the NFL to try and stop him.
“It’s kind of inevitable. It’s gonna happen regardless," Pickens said, via The Athletic's Jon Machota. "Because I can beat it against 2-man, man, 3, 4, it’s a window thing. … There’s nothing they can do to win. I got the go-ball, the stop route, slant. And now they’re kinda focusing on the slant and I still got the go-ball. There’s a lot of stuff.”
Cowboys WR George Pickens fires warning shot at every NFL defense
Pickens got a rep in Pittsburgh for not being the strongest route runner and having a limited route tree. He's proven that the former criticism was absolutely bogus, but why have a deep bag, for lack of a better term, if what you do best can't be stopped?
The former Georgia star's words will be put to the test Thursday night against the Lions. Detroit, which has not won consecutive games since early October, plays man coverage at the second-highest rate in the league.
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Wouldn't you know, Pickens has dominated against man coverage this season. Pickens ranks third among wide receivers with a 142.4 passer rating when targeted vs. man, per Pro Football Focus. His 438 receiving yards against man are 112 more than the next-closest WR. He is also first with 24 receptions and third with 3.59 yards per route run.
On a separate note, CeeDee Lamb is fifth in both yards and yards per route run, and sixth in catches against man coverage despite missing three games. That certainly bodes well for Thursday.
It took a few games for Pickens and Dak Prescott to find a rhythm, but Pickens has only had one game with fewer than 70 receiving yards since Week 3. And in that game -- Week 3 against the Jets -- he still went for 57 yards and a touchdown. Since then, he has averaged a staggering 108.4 yards per game while catching six touchdowns.
The Lions play tougher than most teams, but their secondary isn't nearly as good as the Eagles' or Chiefs', and Pickens combined for 234 receiving yards against those defenses.
Until a defense finally proves otherwise, there's no reason to think anyone can stop Pickens.