The Dallas Cowboys knocked it out of the park with the trade for George Pickens. Not only did the land a legitimate WR2 behind CeeDee Lamb, but his performance was so spectacular that he appears to be a No. 1 wide receiver on most other teams.
The Cowboys will assuredly slap Pickens with the franchise tag as they try to work out a long-term deal, though there exists a very real possibility that the two parties don't come to some sort of happy medium. In the odds of one legendary pass-catcher, that would be the worst-case scenario for all involved.
In an appearance on Kay Adams' "Up and Adams" show, former St. Louis Rams legend Torry Holt begged the Cowboys to "do the right thing" and agree to a long-term contract extension with Pickens. However, Holt wasn't just willing to blindly throw roses at Pickens' feet either.
Holt called Pickens a "freak of nature," but also asked him to "grow up" in a sense and "lock in all the time" on the field. These sorts of questions have been around Pickens for years, and it is on him to prevent names like Holt from assigning those qualifications to his stock as a player.
Torry Holt implores the Dallas Cowboys to sign George Pickens long-term
Pickens put together the finest season of his career last year, tallying 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns despite often splitting targets with CeeDee Lamb. Pickens was a perfect fit in Brian Schottenheimer's offense, and his developmental arrow is only pointing upward.
Not reaching a deal with Pickens would seemingly defeat the point of trading away Micah Parsons, as one of the main sledgehammers Jones has broken out time and time again to defend the deal was citing that he can hand out contract extensions to other stars with the money allocated to his former star pass rusher.
The Cowboys are likely waiting to see if Pickens has one more season of WR1 production before they pay him like a WR1 and sink nearly $70 million into both him and Lamb together. This is a huge risk, but Pickens' play warrants such a risk being taken.
Holt, who himself formed one of the best wide receiver tandems in NFL history alongside Isaac Bruce, knows as well as anyone that having a surplus of talent on the outside can take a team from good to great. Will the Pickens-led Cowboys follow that same path?