FRISCO — Since the Cowboys acquired George Pickens, fellow receiver CeeDee Lamb has gone out of his way to point out their similarities. He’s said, from the beginning, that they both are No. 1 options for the Cowboys.
It’s why Lamb said he can relate to the external criticism that Pickens has faced since last Thursday’s 44-30 loss to the Detroit Lions.
“I’ve been in that position,” Lamb said. “I know what he’s feeling.”
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Pickens, as he noted quickly after the game, didn’t have his best performance in the loss to the Lions. He finished with five catches for 37 yards on nine targets.
Criticism about Pickens’ performance was sparked by comments from former NFL cornerback and Amazon analyst Richard Sherman, who criticized Pickens’ effort level and what Sherman described as disinterest throughout the game. Pickens eventually responded in a post on Instagram that was quickly deleted.
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said he had a good conversation with Pickens about the deleted post. He also reiterated his belief in Pickens.
Quarterback Dak Prescott did the same on Thursday.
“He’s responded great,” Prescott said of Pickens. “Just came in like a pro, as I expected him to do. … When you’re playing to the level he is and to the standard or anybody’s expectations when you play the way that he does. I’m sure y’all spoken to him, and he owns that. He’s had a hell of a week of practice, and he’s going to continue to finish that way. There’s no doubt all that is going to just transpire into the game.”
Pickens is third in the NFL in receiving with 1,179 yards on 78 receptions. Both are career highs for him. He also has a career high eight receiving touchdowns.
Pickens’ performance this season, as Prescott noted, set an expectation for him that wasn’t met on Thursday. Lamb also believes Pickens’ reputation prior to this season also played into the reaction to Thursday’s performance. The Cowboys acquired Pickens and a sixth-round pick for a third and fifth-round pick — a price that’s normally not the market for a star receiver. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin noted late last season that Pickens had to “grow up in a hurry” before they traded him to Dallas.
“I just feel like they were waiting on him to have a bad game,” Lamb said. “It was quiet all season and he was averaging 100, 110 [yards], doing crazy things, but the one opportunity that [they] get, he didn’t step up to their appreciation and I feel like for us to come out victorious it wasn’t just all on him.”
Lamb said that he talked with Pickens about the fallout from the Lions game. Lamb didn’t share details, but he did share his frustration with the criticism about Pickens. Lamb, like Pickens, also gave the Lions credit for their defensive plan against Pickens.
“It just kind of gets annoying as a player because you do everything for your team,” Lamb said. “Mind you, we’re here 10 and 12 hours a day. We’re putting our work in every single day. Every day we work hard at practice, trying to get the timing down and everything. Then you get in the game and the coverage just switches, or you get a sudden change, or somebody get taken out, you can’t prepare for those things. That’s not something that you can just [say] weekly, ‘All right, well what if he goes down? What if he does this?’ No, that’s not how it goes. As a football player you know you got to adjust, and the defense did a great job. They did a great job of cutting [No.] 3 out. That’s it. That simple.”
Twitter: @JoeJHoyt
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