Even in the aftermath of another road loss, one that saw the Dallas defense lit up like a pinball machine, there was one small silver lining: the rise of George Pickens.
The Cowboys may have been carved apart on defense, but on offense, Pickens continues to shine. Through six games, he’s already sitting third in the league with 32 receptions. That’s not a typo. Not “for a young guy.” Not “for a Cowboy.” For anyone.
And here’s where it gets interesting. Michael Irvin, the standard bearer of swagger and production, caught 32 balls in his first season in Dallas. It took him 14 games to do it. Pickens has matched him with 11 games still to go.
It’s not often that history winks back at you this early in a career. But for those who’ve been around long enough, this feels different. This feels like something worth holding onto.
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Because there was a time, not long after Troy and Emmitt faded into the sunset, when the Cowboys’ receiving corps was a graveyard of “remember him?” names. James McKnight. Wane McGarity. Jason Tucker. Two beloved veterans, Joey Galloway and Rocket Ismail, hanging on for one more lap. Between them, the duo combined for just 25 total catches in 2000. Twenty-five. That’s what Pickens surpassed before Halloween.
And if you want to trace the Cowboys’ misfires even further back, you’ll find it in 1986, when Dallas passed on Ernest Givins and Webster Slaughter in favor of Mike Sherrard, a receiver who was supposed to be the next big thing. Instead, he broke his leg twice and played one season in silver and blue.
It’s almost poetic that, nearly four decades later, the franchise may have finally stumbled into a natural-born playmaker again. Pickens doesn’t just catch passes. He snatches moments. He plays angry, alive, and unafraid. He carries himself like a man who knows the lights aren’t too bright, even when the team around him flickers.
Now, the Commanders come to town. Both teams sit at 3–3, both teetering between relevance and irrelevance. It’s a crossroads game, the kind that often defines a season.
If the Cowboys have any hope left, they’ll need more than defense. They’ll need George Pickens, the new lone star quietly making history in the middle of the storm.
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