A major source of contention surrounding the Dallas Cowboys search for a second starting receiver this offseason is how that player would impact All-Pro CeeDee Lamb. Lamb, signed to a four-year, $136,000,000 deal, is the past, present and future of the Cowboys' passing attack. With the majority of his damage happening from the slot position, finding a complementary player and not an internal disrupter was of great importance to the Cowboys.
Plenty of viable WR2 options surfaced throughout both free agency and the draft but many of them, like Lamb, also performed best in the slot. If the Cowboys had their druthers, they would have liked to find a true X receiver to line up on-ball allowing Lamb to permanently lay claim to the slot spot. Low and behold Dallas fulfilled their druthers, trading for Pittsburgh WR George Pickens and filling the X role with a prototypical on-ball specimen.
Problem solved, right? Not completely.
Pickens, like most top NFL WRs, likes to do a little moonlighting in the slot as well. According to PFF data from 2024, 143 of his 811 snaps came from inside at the slot position. It's not as much as Lamb's 396 slot snaps but it's still a sizable chunk. If Pickens was to repeat that number in 2025 it would theoretically drop Lamb's slot snap count roughly 35 percent, down to 256. That's a significant amount.
The temptation is to simply not do that and tether Pickens to the sideline in 2025. Unfortunately, that would make the Cowboys offense static and rather predictable. Opposing defenses could matchup on their own terms and the Cowboys offense would forfeit a significant advantage in the scheming department. It would also remove one of Pickens' most productive alignments from the equation. That's because Pickens is an assassin from the slot.
Pickens' 2.13 yards per route run from the slot is nothing to scoff at and certainly nothing to throw away for the sake of giving Lamb all the inside snaps. Pickens' fit on this offense has long been considered similar to that of Michael Gallup's. But a look inside the numbers (courtesy of Football Insights and PFF) shows he's deadly from the slot as well making it irresponsible to strip him from such a productive role.
Obviously, there are opportunity costs to giving Pickens snaps in slot because unless the Cowboys are running four WR sets, Pickens in the slot means Lamb is pushed outside. But things aren't always so black and white and one of the benefits of Brian Schottenheimer's scheme means both players can play in the slot at the same time, even in a base 11 personnel group. Kinda.
Going back to some of Schottenheimer's first descriptions of his offense we learned the new play caller likes condensed formations. This departure from Mike McCarthy's more spread-out look would pull outside receivers in, offering new looks for familiar plays.
In a typical spread look, outside WRs must contend with the sideline. The sideline encumbers outbreaking routes and essentially limits their release to a 90-degree workspace. Slot receivers line up inside so they have the benefit of a 180-degree release since they can cut inside, outside, or downfield. It's why slot production is so significant and why nickel cornerbacks have to be so quick and explosive.
Playing in a condensed formation would pull the X receiver off the boundary and closer to the middle of the field. From there he's given the 180-degree release typically only afforded to slot WRs, making options aplenty for the Cowboys' newest weapon.
Keep in mind also, there's nothing saying the Cowboys have to stick to the normal position roles when lined up in condensed formations. Dallas doesn't make it a habit, but they have been known to trot their tight ends out to man the X spot from time to time. Jake Ferguson took 43 snaps split out wide in 2024 and 73 the year before. Those are bonus opportunities for someone like Pickens to take an inside role in standard 11 personnel groups.
That proportion of outside snaps for Ferguson stands to increase in 2025 since Dallas will be using more condensed looks and the farthest outside player will be responsible for sealing the edge. Using TEs occasionally outside makes a lot of sense in both play design and in giving Pickens looks from a slot-like position (he would be inside and off-ball).
At the end of the day the only limits this Cowboys offense faces in 2025 are Schottenheimer's ability to get creative. There's zero reason to be static and little justification for giving Pickens less snaps inside. Both players can feast inside, and the Cowboys offense will be better off for it. Maybe Schottenheimer already knows this.
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