A.J. Brown says Eagles are ‘going to have to worry about’ Cowboys following acquisition of George Pickens

The NFC East is one of the more contested division races across the NFL. All four teams have improved throughout the offseason, but the Dallas Cowboys made a big splash earlier this month when they acquired wide receiver George Pickens in a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

While the Cowboys are a division rival, Philadelphia Eagles star wideout A.J. Brown admired that Dallas acquired a player of Pickens’ caliber.

“I like that, I ain’t gonna lie,” Brown said during a recent sit-down conversation with fans on his YouTube channel.

The Cowboys had their struggles throughout the 2024 season after losing quarterback Dak Prescott to a hamstring injury for the second half of the year. Dallas ultimately finished the year with a 7-10 record and missed the postseason for the first time since 2020.

Despite those struggles, Brown knows that the Eagles will need to pay attention to their NFC East rivals in 2025.

“We’re going to have to worry about (Dallas), for sure,” Brown added. “We’re going to have to worry about them. No, I like the trade. I do like the trade. I like the competition. I like George Pickens, I like CeeDee Lamb. And they collab. It’s going to be exciting to watch. Because all that does is bring the best out of us. So, if we know how they coming, we are going to have to step it up.”

Brown also admitted that the records go out the window when it’s a battle of two NFC East teams.

“Regardless of the scoreboard or what the score says, those are one of the hardest games,” Brown said. “Every single time. Cowboys, Washington, those are dog fights. It may look easy, but it ain’t easy.”

The Eagles certainly had the Cowboys’ number during the 2024 season; they came away victorious in both matchups by a combined score of 75-13. Prescott missed both of those divisional showdowns against the Eagles with Cooper Rush drawing the start on both occasions. 

Now the Cowboys have a dynamic duo of Lamb and Pickens to bring more offensive firepower to the table. Pickens caught 174 passes for 2,841 yards and 12 touchdowns in three seasons with the Steelers prior to the trade.

It’s certainly an essential acquisition given that the Eagles have Brown and DeVonta Smith, both of whom can beat the opposition over the top. The Washington Commanders also added Deebo Samuel in an offseason trade with the San Francisco 49ers, while Malik Nabers is coming off of an impressive rookie campaign with the New York Giants.

The Eagles will face off against the Cowboys for the first time on Sept. 4 to open the 2025 NFL season.