Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens is on a mission to fight back the narrative that he’s a locker room problem.
At Pittsburgh, his playmaking abilities were matched with emotional outbursts and work ethic question marks, including tardiness and even holding up flights.
When the Cowboys traded a third round draft pick for him, they did so aware of that risk and in the hopes of the football elements outweighing such worries.
In Pickens’ eyes, however, the narrative has run amok. Asked about what people don’t know about him, the new Cowboys wide receiver expected to be a “co-one” to CeeDee Lamb described himself as a chill individual.
“I’m actually like a chill guy,” Pickens told reporters on Tuesday. “There’s a big phase of a tornado that’s not even true. I’m a chill guy and I just love to work.”
When talking to the media, Pickens indeed appeared like a chill guy. He was well-mannered with the media. Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer recently praised him for his work and focus in the meeting room.
However, Pickens will have to prove it on the field and during the grind of the regular season, when wins and losses are being discussed daily. Throughout his first three years in the league, he hasn’t exactly been a “chill guy.”
During the 2024-2025 season, he was fined seven times, including for egregious facemask fouls, obscene gestures, unsportsmanlike conduct, and taunting.
That needs to go away in this new stage of his career. Work ethic cannot become an issue once the season kicks off.
Pickens is seeking to bounce back in a new opportunity and become one of the highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL. Luckily for him, he’ll get that chance in a much better offense than he was a part of throughout the first three years of his career. But to achieve his goals, he’ll have to match his behavior with his football.