Cowboys WR George Pickens caught 9 balls for 130 yards and a score in Thursday night's loss to the Buccaneers. His 13 targets led the team and accounted for a 31% share. Pickens repeatedly turned slants into chunk gains and capped the big outing with a twisting contested catch for an 18-yard TD in the fourth quarter.
2026 Fantasy Football Impact: Still A Must-Start
This is why Pickens remains a must-start in fantasy lineups. He was relatively quiet over the first 3 games of the season and caught just 2 of 3 targets in Week 4. But he looked like the focal point of Dallas' passing game from the start of Thursday night's game.
That volatility comes with playing alongside another excellent WR in CeeDee Lamb. Lamb was quiet against the Bucs before hurting his quad in the second half. As long as that doesn't linger, we'd bet on him leading the Cowboys in targets the rest of the way. But the gap likely won't be as big as it was over the first 4 weeks of the season.
Pickens has now scored 26+ PPR points in 6 of his 22 games (27%) with the Cowboys.
He gets plus matchups against the Packers and Cardinals in Weeks 6 and 8. Week 7 brings a talented but underachieving Eagles secondary.
Pickens' schedule from Weeks 6 through 17 ranks third easiest, per our adjusted fantasy points allowed. He's a fringe WR1 going forward.
