Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin has had a lot of memorable quotes. This is arguably one of his most noteworthy: “You either run that slant, or we run back to the ghetto.”
Twenty-five years after his retirement, that quote still stands out. In a league where route trees have become more complex and wide receiver talent pours into the NFL Draft every year, one basic route continues to find success: the slant.
For Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens, the slant has been a mainstay in a breakout season that will translate into millions of dollars when he negotiates a new contract next offseason.
Through Week 13, Pickens has had 19 receptions for 292 yards on slant routes, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Both stats lead the NFL. The second-highest slant yardage total behind Pickens is 166 yards. His four receptions for 73 yards on slants in the team’s Thanksgiving Day win over the Kansas City Chiefs were the most yards gained by any receiver in a game this season on slant routes.
For a 6-foot-3 physical receiver like Pickens, it’s a bit of a surprise that he can find such separation on quick in-breaking routes. But to him, it’s just an added layer to his game that will set up more downfield opportunities as the season goes along.
Cowboys receiver George Pickens celebrates with a turkey leg following a victory against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thanksgiving at AT&T Stadium. Stacy Revere Getty Images
Pickens says his success means trouble for defensive backs. “There’s nothing they can do to win,” he said Monday. “I got the go-ball, the stop route, slant. And now they’re kind of focusing on the slant, and I still got the go-ball. There’s a lot of stuff.”
It’s been a career year for Pickens as he enters Week 14 of the NFL season trailing only Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba in receiving yards on the season. He’s made 73 receptions for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns, all career-highs and all team-highs this season.
In a recent TV broadcast, Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss questioned how teams continue to allow Pickens to find success on the slant route, saying, “Don’t let him run the slant.” To Pickens, it’s not that simple.
“It’s kind of inevitable,” Pickens said. “It’s going to happen regardless, because I can beat it against 2-man [coverage], man [coverage], [Cover] 3, [Cover] 4, it’s a window thing.”
Pickens wasn’t able to show his versatility on in-breaking routes in the first three years of his career in Pittsburgh. His production has flourished with an expanded route tree in Dallas.
“It’s been great,” he said. “That was one of the things that I remember me saying earlier in the year, that if I have a more versatile route tree, then you can kind of see what I can do.”
Game schedule dates, times, locations
NEXT UP: Game dates, times, locations, channel
Rangers ▶
June 1 Rangers 2, St. Louis 1
June 2 Rangers 7, St. Louis 4
June 3 St. Louis 5, Rangers 3
June 5 Rangers 3, Cleveland 2
June 6 Cleveland 6, Rangers 0
June 7 Rangers 10, Cleveland 0
June 9 at Kansas City, 6:40 p.m., RSN
June 10 at Kansas City, 6:40 p.m., RSN
June 11 at Kansas City, 1:10 p.m., RSN
June 12 at Boston, 6:10 p.m., CW
June 13 at Boston, 3:10 p.m., RSN
June 14 at Boston, 6:20 p.m., NBC, Peacock
Wings▶
May 22 Atlanta 86, Wings 69
May 24 Wings 91, New York 76
May 28 Wings 95, Las Vegas 87
June 1 Wings 79, Seattle 56
June 5 Wings 104, Los Angeles 96
June 9 at Minnesota, 7 p.m., KFAA
June 11 vs. Phoenix, 8 p.m., Amazon Prime Video
June 13 at Portland, 7:30 p.m., KFAA
June 15 vs. Las Vegas, 7 p.m., KFAA, USA
June 17 at Golden State, 9 p.m., KFAA
TCU Football ▶
2026 season
Aug. 29 vs. North Carolina (at Dublin), 11 a.m., ESPN
Sept. 12 vs. Grambling State, 7 p.m., ESPN+
Sept. 19 vs. Arkansas State, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Sept. 26 at Central Florida, TBA
Oct. 3 vs. BYU, TBA
Oct. 17 at Baylor, TBA
Oct. 24 vs. West Virginia, TBA
Oct. 31 vs. Kansas, TBA
Nov. 6 at Arizona, 9:15 p.m., ESPN
Nov. 14 vs. Kansas State, TBA
Nov. 21 vs. Utah, TBA
Nov. 26 at Texas Tech, 7 p.m., ESPN
Cowboys ▶
Sept. 13 at N.Y. Giants, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Sept. 20 vs. Washington, 3:25 p.m., Fox
Sept. 27 vs. Baltimore (at Rio de Janeiro), 3:25 p.m., CBS
Oct. 4 at Houston, 12 p.m., Fox
Oct. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, 7:15 p.m., Amazon Prime Video
Oct. 18 at Green Bay, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Oct. 26 at Philadelphia, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC
Nov. 1 vs. Arizona, 12 p.m., Fox
Nov. 8 at Indianapolis, 12 p.m., Fox
Nov. 15 vs. San Francisco, 3:25 p.m., Fox
Nov. 22 vs. Tennessee, 12 p.m., Fox
Nov. 26 vs. Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m., Fox
Dec. 7 at Seattle, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC
Dec. 20 at L.A. Rams, 3:25 p.m., CBS
Dec. 27 vs. Jacksonville, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Jan. 3 vs. N.Y. Giants, 12 p.m., Fox
Jan. 9 or 10 at Washington, TBA
World Cup ▶
All local matches at AT&T Stadium
Group stage
June 14 Netherlands vs. Japan (Group F), 3 p.m., Fox
June 17 England vs. Croatia (Group L), 3 p.m., Fox
June 22 Argentina vs. Austria (Group J), 12 p.m., Fox
June 25 Japan vs. Sweden (Group F), 6 p.m., FS1
June 27 Argentina vs. Jordan (Group J), 9 p.m., Fox
Knockout round
June 30 Round of 32: Group E runner-up vs. Group I runner-up, 12 p.m., Fox
July 3 Round of 32: Group D runner-up vs. Group G runner-up, 1 p.m., Fox
July 6 Round of 16: Teams TBD, 2 p.m., Fox
July 14 Semifinal: Teams TBD, 2 p.m., Fox
FC Dallas ▶
May 2 FC Dallas 2, NY Red Bulls 0
May 9 FC Dallas 3, Salt Lake 1
May 13 Vancouver 3, FC Dallas 2
May 16 FC Dallas 3, San Jose 2
May 23 FC Dallas 2, Colorado 1
World Cup break
July 22 at Portland, 9:30 p.m., Apple TV
July 25 at San Diego, 8:30 p.m., FS1, Apple TV
Texas Motor Speedway ▶
June 13 NASCAR Racing Experience
June 20 Team Texas - David Starr's Racing School
June 20 Drift n Drag
July 11 NASCAR Racing Experience
July 11 Hearts in High Gear
July 25 Drift n Drag
This story was originally published December 2, 2025 at 5:14 PM.
Nick Harris is the Dallas Cowboys beat reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has experience working on the beat for DallasCowboys.com and previous work experience at Yahoo Sports/Rivals and 247Sports.
