The Dallas Cowboys have yet to see anything negative from George Pickens.
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens arrived at The Star with all kinds of negative narratives following him from Pittsburgh. Questions about how good a teammate he was tainted what otherwise appeared to be a great football move by the front office.
Not only have the Cowboys not seen any negative behavior from their new wide receiver, they’ve seen the contrary. That includes leadership in the huddle in the biggest of moments, while the Cowboys battled it out with the New York Giants in what ended up as an overtime 40-37 win.
Tyler Smith praises Pickens’ leadership in the huddle after Cowboys’ win
Cowboys left guard Tyler Smith, a former second-team All-Pro, knows a thing or two about football leadership. It’s one reason Dallas signed him to a $96 million contract extension. So when he acknowledged a teammate’s work leading the team, we should listen.
“I think George had a huge game today, and I know people only see the highlights, but you heard what he was saying in the huddle, I think that really just speaks to who he is as a man,” Smith told reporters. “He was like, ‘Y’all just keep going, you got to keep going till you make it home. Like, keep going.’ When the score wasn’t going our way, when we [were not] moving the ball the way we were supposed to, he was pushing us to keep going every single play.”
That is a huge compliment for Pickens, who has rarely — if ever — heard this kind of comment about him throughout his career. In his days with the Steelers, he was known as a good player, but a locker room problem. Smith’s message, however, speaks volumes about what Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer and others said about him in the offseason. None of that has shown up in Dallas. Pickens is being a heck of a teammate for the Cowboys, and the team is acknowledging it.
“I appreciate that, as a man, as a brother,” Smith added.
As for Pickens, he’s even showing his leadership when being asked about his first Cowboys touchdown, which put the team ahead in a crucial moment of the game.
“It’s definitely a relief [to have scored], especially since I’ve been wanting to get a touchdown, I wanted to get in that [score] box,” Pickens said postgame. “But like I said, it’s definitely for the team. That’s definitely where I’m at because I know what type of guys these are. So with special plays like today, you can win a lot of games.”
