George Pickens Is Dominating the NFL’s Most Basic Route - and Defenses Can’t Stop It
It’s one of the simplest routes in football - three steps, a sharp cut inside, and the ball’s on you. The slant.
It’s been around forever, and yet in 2025, it’s still breaking games wide open. And right now, no one in the league is running it better than Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens.
Pickens has turned the slant into a personal highlight reel this season. Through Week 13, he leads the NFL with 19 receptions and 292 yards on slant routes, per NFL Next Gen Stats.
That’s not just leading the league - it’s blowing away the competition. The next closest receiver in slant yardage?
166 yards. Pickens nearly doubled that in just one game, torching the Kansas City Chiefs for 73 yards on four slant catches during the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day win - the most slant yards by any receiver in a single game this season.
So how is a 6-foot-3, physical wideout - the kind you expect to win jump balls and bully defenders on the outside - finding so much success on a route designed for quickness and precision?
For Pickens, it’s all about adding layers to his game.
“There’s nothing [defensive backs] can do to win,” Pickens said. “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.”
That “lot of stuff” is exactly what’s made Pickens such a nightmare matchup this year. He’s not just a deep threat anymore.
He’s become a complete receiver, and the numbers back it up. Heading into Week 14, he trails only Jaxon Smith-Njigba in total receiving yards, with 73 catches for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns - all career highs, and all leading the Cowboys.
This is a different version of George Pickens than the one we saw in Pittsburgh. In Dallas, he’s been given a more diverse route tree, and he’s thriving because of it.
“That was one of the things that I remember me saying earlier in the year,” Pickens said. “If I have a more versatile route tree, then you can kind of see what I can do.”
Well, we’re seeing it now. Pickens is cooking defenders at every level of the field - and the slant is his bread and butter.
It’s not just about beating man coverage or finding holes in zone. According to him, it’s about understanding the windows and hitting them with precision, no matter the defensive look.
“It’s kind of inevitable,” he said. “It’s going to happen regardless, because I can beat it against 2-man, man, Cover 3, Cover 4 - it’s a window thing.”
That inevitability is what’s catching the attention of legends, too. During a recent broadcast, Hall of Famer Randy Moss asked the obvious question: “Don’t let him run the slant.”
But as Pickens points out, it’s not that easy. When you’re that quick off the line, that strong through contact, and that sharp with your cuts, the slant becomes more than a route - it becomes a weapon.
And right now, it’s a weapon the Cowboys are wielding to perfection.
Pickens’ emergence as a top-tier receiver is one of the biggest reasons Dallas has looked so dangerous this season. He’s not just winning routes - he’s dictating coverage.
Defenses have to pick their poison. Play off to stop the slant, and he’ll hit you deep.
Press up, and he’ll break inside before you can blink.
It’s the kind of evolution you love to see in a young receiver - not just big plays, but a complete understanding of how to manipulate defenders and create space. Pickens has always had the physical tools. Now, with the Cowboys giving him the freedom to run a full route tree, he’s showing just how dangerous he can be.
And as long as he keeps running that slant the way he is, there might not be much defenses can do about it.