ESPN's 'First Take' misrepresents old Cowboys training camp footage, mistakes Brandin Cooks for George Pickens
ESPN’s First Take made an error during its Tuesday episode, as it aired footage from Dallas Cowboys training camp in 2023 and credited George Pickens catching a touchdown pass. Pickens was with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023 and joined the Cowboys this offseason. In the video, it was Brandin Cooks catching a TD pass.
At the end of the episode, First Take host Molly Qerim apologized for the mistake. “Earlier, we showed video that we identified as George Pickens at Cowboys training camp,” Qerim said. “It was not George, so we apologized on that mistake.”
How did ESPN make the mistake? The network obtained a social media post from the account FergSZN, who said that Dak Prescott threw a TD pass to George Pickens. But the video was originally from Cowboys reporter Kyle Youmans, who was at the team’s training camp in 2023 and filmed Brandin Cooks making the play.
Another thing to note about the video is that when First Take shared it, the Cowboys have not had their first training camp practice yet. ESPN Cowboys reporter Todd Archer said that he team will hold its first practice on Tuesday at 12:45 p.m. ET.
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More on George Pickens and Brandin Cooks
Pickens is the Cowboys’ big move of the offseason. In May, Dallas traded for Pickens, who was with the Pittsburgh Steelers for his first three seasons. In exchange for Pickens, the Cowboys sent the Steelers a 2026 third-round draft pick and the 2027 fifth-round pick.
“George can be a one [WR],” Cowboys COO Stephen Jones said in a Sirius XM national radio interview in May. “He’s got that type of talent, he’s got unbelievable ball-tracking ability, he’s got plenty of juice and he’s a fiery competitor. We love that, he plays with an edge, and we think he’d be a good fit for our team.”
Cooks was with the Cowboys from 2023 to 2024. In 10 games last year, Cooks caught 26 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns. In March of this year, Cooks signed a two-year, $13 million contract with the New Orleans Saints.