The Dallas Cowboys leaned on George Pickens in the passing attack against the Philadelphia Eagles. Still, one number from the run game says plenty about where his role stands.
The Dallas Cowboys sent George Pickens a quiet but important message against the Philadelphia Eagles, and it showed up in the snap counts. A storyline about the Cowboys wide receiver's effort as a run blocker keeps growing. Dallas didn't bench him, but it limited how often he blocked on running plays.
First things first: This was a big game for Pickens.
He finished with four catches for 57 yards and a touchdown, and the Cowboys moved him around more often than usual. Pickens ran seven pass plays out of the slot, and Dallas targeted him at least twice in big moments from that alignment.
The first came early on a third-and-long. Quarterback Dak Prescott went to Pickens, and while the play didn't move the chains, it set up a fourth-and-short that the Cowboys converted later.
The second was his touchdown. Lining up in the slot matched Pickens against Eagles safety Andrew Mukuba, a much more favorable matchup than cornerback Quindon Mitchell, who was busy with tight end Jake Ferguson out wide. Credit the play design and the play calling for that one.
The other part of the story comes on the heels of Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer publicly saying Pickens needs to be better as a run blocker and show better effort. Schottenheimer also pointed out that Pickens impacts the run game as much as the passing game.
Against Philadelphia, that message went from words to the field.
According to Pro Football Focus, Ryan Flournoy and CeeDee Lamb each logged 28 run-blocking snaps. Jonathan Mingo had 16. Pickens? Just 13, the fewest of any Cowboys wide receiver who played on offense.
That is telling, at minimum. It doesn't mean there's something to be worried about, but it does reinforce the idea that Dallas wants more from Pickens in the run game. To be fair, that's a reasonable ask. Against the Packers and in other games, you could see reps where the Cowboys needed more from their receiver.
Here's the thing about this game, though: I wouldn't be too worried.
Pickens was on the field for a few good run plays for Javonte Williams. More importantly, the Cowboys weren't exactly hiding their plan. Dallas lined up Broderick Jones as a sixth offensive lineman on nine snaps, and those plays went for 81 yards with a 67% success rate. That's absurd.
The Cowboys also came under center a lot. In fact, 168 of their 204 rushing yards came from under-center looks. Dallas used multiple tight ends on many of those plays, sometimes pairing the extra offensive lineman with two tight ends, and it gashed the Eagles defense over and over again.
So if the Cowboys wanted to give Flournoy more run-blocking snaps for better matchups, I don't mind it one bit.
Flournoy even lined up at fullback at times, and it worked out neatly on at least one play. As he ran across the formation behind the line of scrimmage, Eagles nickel Cooper DeJean followed him away from where the run was going. Meanwhile, Mingo handled Mitchell.
Then there was Williams' 34-yard gain late in the game. Jones lined up on the left and climbed to the inside linebacker, Tyler Guyton took the edge rusher, and Flournoy once again climbed up to DeJean and blocked him. Williams did the rest.
Pickens does a lot of things well, but he's not a great run blocker. We know that. So more than turning this into George Pickens drama, I see it as yet another example of the coaching staff knowing what it wanted to do and executing it successfully.
If you ask me, it's close to an ideal situation. The Cowboys went to Pickens in the passing game and limited him in the run game, and the offense thrived in both.
Still, this is worth monitoring. Dallas clearly isn't in love with what Pickens is doing as a run blocker, and the snap counts made sure he got the message.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: Dallas Cowboys sent George Pickens a quiet but telling message during Week 7 win, and it was for the best
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