Cowboys' Updated Depth Chart, NFL Salary Cap after George Pickens Trade With Steelers

We finally know what Jerry Jones was talking about when he said prior to the draft that the Dallas Cowboys were working on big trades with the team on the verge of landing George Pickens.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers are in the process of finalizing a trade for Pickens that will send a third-round draft pick to the Steelers and additional pick swaps.

After neglecting the No. 2 receiver spot in free agency and the draft, the Cowboys land a terrific running mate next to CeeDee Lamb going into the 2025 season.

The Cowboys entered the day with the 10th-most cap space in the NFL at $32.3 million, per Spotrac. That number will go down to around $28.6 million when factoring in Pickens' $3.7 million cap charge in 2025.

Here is what the Cowboys' offensive depth chart will look like when the Pickens trade becomes official.

QB: Dak Prescott, Joe Milton III, Will Grier

RB: Javonte Williams, Jaydon Blue (R), Miles Sanders, Phil Mafah (R), Deuce Vaughn

FB: Hunter Luepke

LWR: George Pickens, Jalen Tolbert, Jalen Brooks, Kelvin Harmon, Traeshon Holden

SWR: CeeDee Lamb, KaVontae Turpin, Parris Campbell, Jalen Cropper

RWR: Jonathan Mingo, Ryan Flournoy, Seth Williams, Josh Kelly

LT: Tyler Guyton, Asim Richards, Hakeem Adeniji

LG: Tyler Smith, Rob Jones, Saahdiq Charles

C: Cooper Beebe, Brock Hoffman, Dakoda Shepley

RG: Tyler Booker (R), T.J. Bass

RT: Terence Steele, Ajani Cornelius, Matt Waletzko

Depth chart via Ourlads.com

There were a lot of questions coming out of the draft about the Cowboys not adding a wide receiver.

Dallas used its first-round pick at No. 13 overall on Alabama guard Tyler Booker, who will slot in as the starting right guard after Zack Martin announced his retirement in March.

Other than replacing Martin, the most glaring hole on the Cowboys roster going into the draft was another receiver who could take some of the pressure away from Lamb.

It's a testament to the Cowboys' drafting ability that they didn't try to force a receiver with a pick where they may not have believed in one. This arguably worked out better for them, at least in the short-term.

Pickens is a home-run hitter on the outside. His 16.3 yards per reception since entering the NFL in 2022 is the second-highest among all pass-catchers with at least 100 catches (Alec Pierce: 17.6).

There is definitely some volatility to Pickens' game. He has been called out for an apparent lack of effort at some points and hasn't been afraid to send not-so-subtle messages when he thinks he should be getting the ball more.

Even though there is risk in the Cowboys making this move, their offensive ecosystem seems better suited to take advantage of Pickens' talents than Pittsburgh was.

A healthy Dak Prescott is a better quarterback than the Steelers have had over the past three seasons. The Cowboys throw the ball a lot, with Prescott averaging the seventh-most attempts per game since 2021.

Things are set up for the Cowboys to have a very good offense next season. First-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer is unproven in that role, but he was effective as their offensive coordinator in the previous two years.

Adding Pickens to the mix will only boost their passing game, especially knowing how much his presence can open up the field for Lamb. Pickens has never had fewer than 801 receiving yards in a season.

The last time Dallas had another pass-catcher aside from Lamb record 800 yards in a season was 2021 when both Amari Cooper and Dalton Schultz hit that mark.