George Pickens plans to play the position the Cowboys put him in, and he doesn’t mean wide receiver.
Pickens finds himself firmly planted in prove-it mode with his hopes for a long-term contract placed on the backburner in Dallas as the Cowboys begin the regular season Sunday night against the New York Giants in East Rutherford, N.J.
“Big things, big goals, big aspirations for everybody, so definitely want to accomplish that,” Pickens said of his 2026 outlook.
Pickens and CeeDee Lamb combined for 2,506 receiving yards last year. Pickens had nine of their combined 12 TD receptions.
Despite all of the trimmings of a playoff-caliber offense, Dallas was 7-9-1 last season because its defense couldn’t keep pace. The Cowboys allowed a league-high 511 points, 35 touchdown passes and 125.5 rushing yards per game.
With the Pickens deal on hold, the Cowboys instead spent time and money to address their defense in the offseason. Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams signed a contract extension, Dallas traded for linebacker Dee Winters and outside linebacker Rashan Gary and used the team’s first-round pick to add safety Caleb Downs 11th overall.
Their first task under new coordinator Christian Parker is stopping Jaxson Dart and the division rival Giants.
The rivalry skewed heavily toward Dallas in recent seasons, but the Giants hired John Harbaugh in the offseason in hopes of turning New York’s fortunes.
Dallas had won nine games in a row in the series until Week 18 last season, a 34-17 win for New York and only its second in the series since 2016. The Cowboys are 16-2 in the last 18 meetings. Quarterback Dak Prescott is 14-3 in his career against the Giants, but Dart envisions a shift in his team’s favor.
“Most rivalries I’ve totally dominated,” Dart said.
Harbaugh was 4-1 against Dallas while coaching the Baltimore Ravens.
“The Cowboys are the Cowboys. They’re talented, they’re tough,” Harbaugh said. “We played them a few times, I’ve seen them on tape, but nothing but respect for what they do. They do it their way and they’ve got a bunch of guys, fast football team that flies around. A lot of talent on offense, they’re rebuilding their defense, they have a new defensive coordinator, comes from a great system.”
Harbaugh brought tight end Isaiah Likely with him from Baltimore, and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy has been instrumental in developing young quarterbacks in the past. Nagy filled multiple roles with the Chiefs and worked with Patrick Mahomes, and he also won a division title as head coach of the Bears with Mitchell Trubisky as his starter.
Dart has mobility to move in and outside of the pocket. He had nine touchdowns on 86 carries as a rookie. Nagy said they won’t throttle Dart’s instinctive playing style entirely, even as concussions crept up as a concern in 2025.
Dart could have wide receiver Malik Nabers in the lineup on Sunday for the prime-time matchup. Nabers and running back Cam Skattebo are largely recovered from season-ending injuries and pegged for playmaking roles.
Parker has encouraged the Cowboys not to allow Dart or the Giants to be the team to set the tone.
“There’s an element of violence and physicality that we want to play with, that we will play with,” Parker said. “It’s just kind of tying all those things together in terms of knowing your job, knowing what the man next to you is doing, who are you connected to? Are you on an island on that certain play? And then doing that with an attitude and the physicality required to play this game.”
