Fantasy Football Managers Bathe in Gold with George Pickens' Season-Long Success
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George Pickens is coming off of another stellar game on Monday Night is which he well outperformed CeeDee Lamb. He is turning into a true league-winning asset as the we approach the Fantasy Football playoffs. Some people may fear a falloff given the threat of Lamb, but it is not that simple. Many of you may be wondering if Pickens will maintain his high-end WR1 pace, and I will answer that question for you today.
2025 Stats: George Pickens
Pickens has played 10 Games this year, 3 of which have been without Lamb active. He has 80 Targets (23% Target Share), 58 Receptions, 908 Yards, and 7 Touchdowns. Lamb was injured early in Week 3, so Pickens has essentially played 4 Games without Lamb.
What is very interesting to see is that with Lamb, Pickens has maintained a 22% Target Share. He has hardly any fall off while playing as the WR2, as one could argue that the Cowboys have two sure-fire WR1's.
In the Red Zone, Pickens has earned his money quite well. He has caught 6-of-13 Targets for (3) Touchdowns. This Target Share is 21%.
Pickens is the WR2 in Fantasy Football, trailing only Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
What to Expect Going Forward
Pickens is likely to maintain his amazing value. That is what happens when your have two WR1's on 1st ranked passing offense in the league (258.7 Passing Yards per Game). Here is the Cowboys remaining schedule (Rank vs WRs):
- vs Eagles (9th)
- vs Chiefs (3rd)
- @ Lions (24th)
- vs Vikings (11th)* Playoffs
- vs Chargers (2nd)* Playoffs
- @ Commanders (31st)* Playoffs
- @ Giants (27th)
The schedule is going to be difficult down the stretch. His schedule to date has not been very difficult. This suggests that a downtick may be likely for Pickens.
The good news is that, if you make the Championship in Week 17, you have an extremely favorable matchup versus the 31rd ranked Commanders coverage.
Given the Cowboys level of passing offense, they are likely to still perform just fine, even versus tougher matchups like the Chiefs and Chargers. I would expect Pickens to fall down to WR5-10 range, but WR2 can also be maintained. Regardless, you drafted Pickens are high value and you reap the benefit.
Depth Chart Debate: CeeDee Lamb vs George Pickens
If you own Lamb, you may be wondering if you got a raw deal here. Is Pickens the better rest-of-season and full-season asset to Pickens?
Even if Lamb has played all 10 Games, he would be off the pace of Pickens by (200) Yards, or so. However, Lamb has been targeted more than Pickens in 6-of-7 Games Played.
This passing offense is just that good. They can support multiple elite Wide Receivers. Pickens happened to benefit on his 144-Yard Week 11 effort. The roles may reverse quickly, but both will produce as Top-10 Wide Receivers.
CeeDee Lamb has better rest-of-season upside to George Pickens, despite equally high WR1 upside.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.