The Week 2 performance by George Pickens is exactly why the Dallas Cowboys acquired him this offseason. In a game in which 40 points were needed to win, the Cowboys had to find a viable No. 2 receiver to pair with CeeDee Lamb, and Pickens was the best option available after the draft.
And while the overall numbers aren’t huge, his impact can’t be overstated. Pickens made several massive plays in the fourth quarter to help keep the Cowboys in the game, including the go-ahead touchdown.
But there is also another element of Pickens’ game that helped the Cowboys in Week 2, and that is his ability to consistently draw penalties.
Cowboys WR George Pickens is elite at drawing DPI penalties
Pickens has caught eight passes for 98 yards through two games, and those are very modest numbers for the No. 2 receiver in Dallas. His performance in Week 2 was better with five receptions for 68 yards, but once again, he’s managed to find other ways to make an impact, even when he's not hauling in passes.
Against the Eagles, Pickens drew a 34-yard defensive pass interference call that would set up a one-yard touchdown run by Javonte Williams. Those 34 yards don’t go into the stat sheet for Pickens, but they should. It has the same outcome as a 34-yard reception, as Pickens beat his defender so cleanly that the defensive back had no choice but to commit a penalty to save a touchdown.
That was the case again in Week 2, as Pickens drew two defensive pass interference calls for 45 yards. And in both cases, the calls drawn by Pickens led to points (10 total in Week 2). Through two weeks, Pickens has drawn 79 total yards in penalties, which is 28 more than the second-highest receiver in the league. This isn’t anything new for Pickens, who has drawn the fourth-most penalty yards from opposing defensive backs since 2023, according to TruMedia.
While you can’t build an offense around defensive pass interference calls (although, someone should try!), it’s the benefit of having a player like Pickens on the roster. He is too talented to be covered one-on-one by a No. 2 cornerback and that often results in a bunch of penalties drawn.
Pickens will get more involved in the offense as the season goes on, but you can already feel his impact on the offense. And once he starts to really click with Dak Prescott, the Cowboys could be borderline unstoppable on offense. Pickens is exactly what the Cowboys have been missing in their offense for years.