Pickens is a free agent, but it might be defensive coordinator Christian Parker who plays the biggest role in keeping George in Dallas.
George Pickens and his impending contract "saga" with the Dallas Cowboys is going to be headline-worthy for the next couple of months.
With the Cowboys making it clear that they want Pickens back, as well as a handful of players and coaches, it seems like a good bet that George will be in Dallas in 2025.
Our own Mike Fisher has stated that the franchise tag is the likely option for the Cowboys, citing it as the "easiest path" for Dallas to take.
Should that eventuate, the Cowboys would be paying Pickens roughly $28 million in 2026. So expensive, but for most, worth it.
But would it be worth it to Dallas?
One would have to think so, but if the franchise had any doubts over whether or not it should look to retain Pickens, they might have gotten their answer, but not from George and his play.
But from defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
Yes, you read that right.
Yahoo Sports' Jori Epstein, who was speaking with Andrew Siciliano on Inside Coverage, dropped a huge information nugget from her talks with Cowboys' COO Stephen Jones at the Senior Bowl.
"What was interesting to me is that when I asked Stephen Jones about George Pickens, and what they're going to do, one thing that he told me that surprised me is that the Cowboys' defensive coordinator interviews actually further instilled their confidence in why they should keep Pickens around," Epstein said.
That is rather interesting.
How did the defensive coordinator interviews sway Dallas' thinking into it should be keeping Pickens around?
"Because they're talking to all these defensive coordinator candidates and they were like, hey, you guys were a pain to go against, you need your best corner on one side, you need a double on the other, and it really created some challenges," Epstein added.
That is the reason why Fish has stated for years that Dallas should interview so many candidates, not only for positions within the franchise, but to gain as much information as possible about your team, both good and bad.
And Brian Schottenheimer's "wide net" might have just confirmed that Pickens will be sticking around in 2026.
"I thought it was clever that the Cowboys' takeaways from the defensive interviews were not only about defense, it's also here's how we understand our offense is stressing other defenses," Epstein said.