Joe Hoyt: How Will the George Pickens Trade Shape Out for Dallas

It is the JR Sport Reshow here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. We woke up this morning and George Pickens, he was moved from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Dallas Cowboys. The Dallas Cowboys sure love their stars.

We know that Pickens is entering into the final year of his contract. He wore out his welcome even though he was drafted in 2022 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. How does he fit in with the Cowboys and Lamb and Prescott and the offensive line and just everybody joining us right now to talk about them Cowboys is Joe Hoyt from DLLS Cowboys. Joe, how are you? I'm doing well JR, thanks for having me.

Absolutely, thank you for taking the time to join us. When you heard earlier today that George Pickens was being moved to the Dallas Cowboys for a third rounder, what was your initial reaction? Yeah, I think it was an interesting case because simultaneously I was surprised but not surprised. One thing we knew about George Pickens in relation to the Cowboys is that they had talked. We had known that our the Cowboys and the Steelers had talked about George Pickens. It was one of the things where we kind of believed that the Steelers were trying to talk to a lot of people to gauge the market and the Cowboys kind of famously you know they don't really pick up any phone calls people call them.

So we were kind of wondering you know I wonder if that's a fit and frankly if you kind of connect the dots it really didn't seem like a fit initially. You know Brian Schottenheimer one thing has been adamant about is love for the game and culture for the Cowboys going into his first season. If you look at all their moves they kind of represent that. You know Tyler Booker is with a two-time captain Alabama. You know a guy looked at as an alpha and a great locker room guy. Same with Donovan Ezerok.

He was Tavone Rebel. You go down the list and there's just a lot of good culture positive vibes but there was kind of one pressing need I think that after the draft that they really needed was a wide receiver too. And one of the things about the Cowboys was you know sources have indicated they were going to draft Tetero McMillan at 12 overall if he was there right but they wanted to stick to their board.

He did not fall there. Tyler Booker was there and ultimately they never drafted a guy and I think that the need ultimately forced the Cowboys to do something that they don't normally do in terms of trade stuff. You know and paying external free agents is go over the top and they were able to give a day two pick and a pick swap in 2027 to get Pickens and you know I think that that that's what ultimately helped them a lot and also the fact that he's willing to play out a deal rather than have to sign a big extension. You know the Cowboys kind of let deadlines aside things and they're going to let deadlines aside things to George Pickens who on the field is a great fit.

You know and off the field I think it's an interesting case study for what that might do to the culture Brian Schottenheimer is trying to create. And Joel Hoyt is here with us on the JR sport reshow covers the Dallas Cowboys. You mentioned Brian Schottenheimer first year head coach now with the Dallas Cowboys. His bread and butter for for more than a decade now has been offense. How do you envision this offense running with two new running backs like Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders and now you got Pickens opposite CD Lamb.

Hopefully you have a healthy Dak. What do you envision with Schottenheimer? Yeah I think Schottenheimer has a lot of tools to play with frankly. You know I think let's start with the Pickens acquisition. Like I said McMillan was a guy they targeted and a big reason they targeted McMillan is because he was that perfect kind of compliment you know Robins to CD Lamb's Batman right. And I think specifically he had great contested catch ability. That's something they were looking out of for in a big bodied X receiver. They didn't get McMillan but they got an incredible contested catch guy on the field too when George Pickens sticks with three.

He I believe was their plan B to set up McMillan's plan A. And I think that that will open up things for CD Lamb and if you kind of look back two years ago the Cowboys were at their best when Dak Prescott was an MVP candidate targeting CD Lamb early and often. And I think that's one thing with Pickens that's going to be kind of an interesting development this year is hey this is a guy who is willing to play out his contract but also in the efforts to get paid for a second contract. Will he be okay kind of being more the contested cash guy while CD Lamb is the highly targeted alpha in the wide receiver room.

I think that's something to watch. But in terms of what they've added a running back to you know I think after last season they realized hey we kind of had a running game problem right. And especially it started early when they tried to do a running back cut by committee with Ezekiel Elliott being the CEO of that committee and that thing fell apart pretty quickly allowing Rico Daddle to actually have some success there. But they kind of point to the offensive line as a problem there. They believe that they've addressed the offensive line by drafting Tyler Booker who they think is going to be kind of a plug and play instant impact guy for them. They're hoping for a step up from Tyler Guyton and they believe Tyler Smith and Cooper Beebe are going to continue excelling in that interior as well. So I think for them in terms of the running game which is kind of Brian Schadheimer's you know bread and butter if you kind of look at his career I think they believe they have the offensive line to allow pretty much anyone back there to actually have success. Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders I believe that those were kind of prerequisite you know hey we need to get someone to run the ball. I think Jaden Blue is someone to watch in that backfield someone who's pretty electric someone who can catch the ball out of the backfield.

I wouldn't be surprised if he takes a lot of snaps for the Dallas Cowboys out of their backfield this season. Oh Joe you talk about the the offensive line and drafting Tyler Booker also getting Jaden Blue. Are you comfortable with what their offense offensive line looks like right now with no Zach Martin and Ty Smith? I think if you look at the trio on the interior led by Tyler Smith I think that that has the potential to be one of the best guard center guard combinations in the NFL.

Outside of that there is some nerve wracking stuff especially in terms of going up in pass protection. Terrence Steele like has he's been okay you know after they paid him in terms of pass blocking has had some deficiencies run blocking he's been pretty solid. Tyler Guyton is a huge huge question for them and I think if the Dallas Cowboys want to have success this season yes Dak Prescott being healthy is a huge huge factor and I think that's been shown is when Dak Prescott's healthy they'll be pretty good but Tyler Guyton I think is the biggest x-factor on the scene this year. I mean when you look at left tackle obviously the importance of that position you know that is something that you need to at least have serviceable play and frankly Tyler Guyton in his rookie season struggled mightily it wasn't it wasn't ultimately serviceable and they had to defer to a veteran like Chuma Doga once he got healthy to come back in and kind of be the guy at left tackle. The Cowboys can't afford for a veteran journeyman to be you know this the the replacement to their former first round pick. I think they need Tyler Guyton to step up and show kind of the raw potential that you know warranted to having a first round pick and I think that that is not a guarantee but it's something that could happen this offseason.

You know I think a lot of people are kind of you know not as optimistic about Tyler Guyton as some people you know kind of hope that he can be but if he can be serviceable as a left tackle they could have some success this season. Joe Hoyt is joining us covers the Cowboys for DLLS Cowboys. You talk about Dak Prescott well we heard we talked about Steph Curry and his hamstring before you joined us. What's the latest with Dak?

He's not going on vacation with a boot he's not walking around in a body cast is he? No no Dak is uh Dak's been progressing well um I mean Dak you know having your hamstring kind of tear off the bone is kind of a scary thing right uh had some surgery um and you know he's looking good uh we've we've talked to him a couple times this offseason and one of the big impressions is frankly he looks a little bit leaner up top uh you know in terms of his you know body composition but you know he's definitely been working out a lot with his legs and I think that's one thing he's trying to emphasize is hey you know I can't I can't decide the moment I want to be mobile in a season that my hamstring gets hurt like it did last year because that was one of the things that's kind of funny you know he was he was not very mobile last year and then you know he kind of talked about it said you know what against Atlanta I'm really gonna I'm gonna try to emphasize and he did if you look at what he did against the Falcons he was running actually pretty well against them so much so that the hamstring kind of went from inactive to active too quick and tore off the bone. I think Dak Prescott understands that as he heads into you know the early part of his 30s running still needs to be a huge component of his game his mobility has to be an asset in order for him to be able to create plays and push the ball down field especially now with a guy like George Pickens up at their disposal so I think one thing Dak Prescott really want to emphasize this summer is kind of rehabilitating that that the lower half and ensuring that a torn hamstring is not something that becomes a constant problem for him heading into you know the next part of his career. Well we know Dak he don't have to worry about getting paid he's making 60 mil a year we know CeeDee Lamb got paid we know George Pickens is going to play out the year and then he's going to try to get paid what's the latest and what's the deal with Michael Parsons we know Jerry likes to make everybody sweat had some interesting interesting comments about David Malagueta and and negotiating with Michael Parsons what do you you expect to happen with this contract and what did it get done is it going to get messy down the line? The thing is if you kind of look at what the Cowboys have done recently like there's been some shots across the bow you know especially when you look at what Dak Prescott's negotiation looked like you know CeeDee Lamb you know stayed away did not go to training camp until the last week when they were back in Dallas but ultimately the Cowboys do end up paying their guys you know I think one thing that's been kind of proven is that if you're willing to kind of call their bluff you know you know and let the deadline make the deal you can kind of get exactly what you want look what Todd France and Dak Prescott have now done multiple times in terms of negotiations with the Cowboys one thing I know about Michael Parsons I think he's motivated to be a leader this year he says right now that he's not planning on missing team activities this offseason which is kind of you know a little bit contrary into what CeeDee Lamb showcased last year but the one thing I do know the Cowboys are willing right now according to sources to make him the highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL and it's a matter of when not if I think that happens for the Cowboys I don't foresee this getting too messy I think Jerry would be you know benefit from learning David Malagueta's name rather than questioning what it is you know in press briefings but I don't really expect it to get too messy it's just a matter of when this deal goes down not if. Well Joe it looks like we have some clarity as to what the Dallas Cowboys roster will look like the rest of the season I don't I don't assume anything is gonna really change unless there's some terrible injury what is your expectation for the team this upcoming season given the division that they play in Washington has now ascended obviously the Super Bowl champs are in the NFC East the Eagles are the ones being chased how do the Dallas Cowboys fit in the NFC East as well as the NFC and hole? Yeah I think it's a good question and I think to be honest with you in terms of the on-field potential I think George Pickens that acquisition raises their ceiling frankly I think that before this you know when you were looking at CeeDee Lamb and a bunch of other guys you were hoping would take the next step I think that defenses could identify very easily who they were going to try to double and target and take out of games and that would have been a problem for the Cowboys I think having you know the likes of George Pickens I even think having kind of a playmaker potential like Jayden Blue opens things up for this offense a little bit more than I thought potentially would have a couple weeks ago you know prior to the draft so ultimately I think that they're probably trying to compete with Washington for the second spot in the NFC East maybe they're praying that Jayden Daniels has a sophomore kind of step back and you know they can go up and and take some advantage of that ultimately I think the Cowboys you know I think they're over under right now prior to the Pickens it was set at seven and a half I'd probably set it at nine and a half okay you know with a slight slight bump of potentially over if everything goes right but when you add Pickens you add the variables that they have you have Dak Prescott's health you have Tyler Guidin as your left tackle your blind side hoping to be serviceable there is some variables with this Cowboys team that I think are going to be fascinating to play out come fall and hey in over over a 17 game regular season what's the uh over under on Jerry Jones saying wild things what does that look like uh that's a weekly uh thing potentially a daily thing over here in Dallas um I'll tell you what we have a five day shows uh or five shows a week and there's never been nothing to talk about in terms of covering this team there's a lot yeah Jerry Jerry certainly uh keeps things interesting well Joe thank you so much for joining us tell everybody where they could follow you and listen to the show yeah you can follow me at at Joe J Hoyt on uh X and Instagram and then uh DLLS Sports on YouTube is where our show is and all DLS.com is where my written content is got a feature on Tyler Booker um and his kind of alpha history at Alabama that I think is pretty interesting for even non-Cowboys viewers so um yeah thank you so much for having me on though absolutely Joe I appreciate it let's holler at you down the line man have fun like you said I know things always busy down in Frisco okay yeah no doubt man thank you no doubt about it that Joe Hoyt covers all things Dallas Cowboys for DLLS Cowboys as the Dallas Cowboys have traded for George Pickens they picked up a problem from the Pittsburgh Steelers and at least for one year minimum you can expect them to be on this best behavior I assume the Dallas Cowboys yeah eight to nine wins maybe a playoff appearance and that's about it ain't no ain't no championship here I'm just saying