The Dallas Cowboys' head coach, Brian Schottenheimer, has drawn plans to utilize wide receiver George Pickens and expand his role on the offense for his second season with the team. 

During the media session after the last day of the mandatory minicamp (June 18), Schottenheimer praised Pickens for quickly adapting to minor tweaks made during the offseason.

“As we talk about evolving, I would say the biggest thing we're doing is we want to move George around more,” Schottenheimer said, per the Dallas Cowboys YT Channel. “He's not just going to live at X - he doesn't like that anyways. We want to put him in the slot some. We want to get him isolated some to the front side, the same size as the tight end.”

Pickens enters the 2026 season after recording his career-best campaign with the Cowboys in the 2025 season. He posted 93 receptions for 1,429 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, earning his first Pro Bowl nod and second-team All-Pro honors.

He operated primarily as a vertical threat and premier X-iso receiver alongside WR CeeDee Lamb. He played in the slot when Lamb was down with an injury, where he ran short and quick routes with ease. 

Schottenheimer also noted that opponents began keying on Pickens' slant game as he excelled there, making it harder for the team and coaches.

To counter that, the Cowboys have planned to utilize him in different alignments and build complementary concepts off the routes, making their moves less predictable.

"But that's the biggest thing - how do we complement the things that we know he is so good at, that the whole league knows, the whole world knows he's good at, but we've got things off of that. He's a fun tool to mess around with," Schottenheimer said, per the Dallas Cowboys YT Channel.

Meanwhile, Pickens put contract speculation aside and attended mandatory minicamp, choosing to focus on proving himself on the field rather than pursuing a new deal.

George Pickens is not letting contract questions affect his focus

George Pickens revealed that playing with his teammates and winning the Super Bowl were the ultimate goals rather than holding out from training camp and mandatory minicamp.

"I'm just here to make the best decision for the team and myself," Pickens said, per Garrett Podell of CBS Sports. "If you keep showing it, or they already have a hint of who you are, that's when they'll start speaking on JSN [Jaxon Smith-Njigba's market-resetting four-year, $168.6 million extension] contracts and stuff like that. I just keep doing what is best for me."

He chose to focus on his performance rather than speculate about future negotiations, as he believes players earn market-setting contracts through consistent production.

Ultimately, Pickens believes that playing the game to the best of his abilities will take care of the rest of his demands, as money is tied to it.

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Written by

Archana Ramakrishnan

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore