FRISCO — Opposing teams have taken a recent affinity for double covering Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens, resulting in the least productive two-week stretch for Pickens this season. There’s been one good byproduct from it: fellow receiver CeeDee Lamb has had back-to-back 100-yard games. Fellow wide receiver Ryan Flournoy had a 100-yard receiving performance against the Lions two weeks ago.
So, is the best way to deal with Pickens being double covered to simply go away from targeting him?
“We’re never going to do that,” Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said.
But they do have some ideas on how they can get Pickens more involved in the offense. Schottenheimer pointed to the potential of moving Pickens around in pre-snap motion, which is something they’ve often done more with Lamb. He also insinuated that Pickens has been an important part of the game plan as the Cowboys head to play the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
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“He’s a great talent and we’ve got to get him going,” Schottenheimer said. “I think the thing for me is having a really good week of prep. I think [Pickens] had one of the best practice days of the year yesterday. I think that’s important. Why? Because I think that gives you confidence going into the game. You’re excited about some of the matchups and some of the things that we have in the plan. These guys feed off it. They’re no different. They get the ball in practice and they’re excited about the game. If they don’t get the ball in practice … they’re a little bit like, ‘We’ll see how the game goes.’ But he’s been great.”
Pickens has been targeted 15 times the last two weeks. He’s caught eight passes for 70 yards.
After the Lions game, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said the connection between he and Pickens is too good not to have success. He reiterated that they can persevere through double coverages earlier this week.
“Just play through it, for one, on his end,” Prescott said. “I know he understands that and says that. Just play faster, harder, even if they’ve got two guys on.”
And while they won’t go away from Pickens, Prescott did say that double coverage against Pickens could open up other receivers — just like we’ve seen the last two games.
“You will take those two out of there and be the sacrifice at times,” Prescott said. “But essentially, other guys got to step up, and they’ve got to take some of that, take that other guy away from him so he can just get back one-on-one and be his best. And so that takes all of us.”
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