Many have wondered whether or not the Dallas Cowboys could wind up going offense in the first round of the NFL draft. This is far from ideal obviously, but there is a world where the Cowboys get completely wiped out in terms of blue-chip defensive prospects. Taking defense just to do it would hardly be smart business and sometimes you simply have to take the best player available on your board. Imagine turning down CeeDee Lamb in the name of forcing an issue, as an example.
Say the Cowboys took Arizona
State’s Jordyn Tyson or Ohio State’s Carnell Tate. This would give them a surplus at wide receiver, but like with Lamb back in the 2020 NFL Draft, that new reality would offer potential realities to explore in the aftermath.
The Cowboys are nowhere close with George Pickens
Adam Schefter took to the television airwaves of ESPN on Wednesday morning and when he did he discussed where the Dallas Cowboys currently sit with wide receiver George Pickens.
According to Schefter the Cowboys are “nowhere” with Pickens.
Let’s lay out where the Cowboys are with Pickens through the lens of how they got here:
- Dallas traded for Pickens following last year’s draft
- They gave the Pittsburgh Steelers their third-round pick in this year’s draft
- Pickens played very well for the Cowboys
- He arguably earned a market rate deal
- The market for NFL wide receivers is hovering around $40M per year
- Dallas placed the franchise tag on Pickens earlier this offseason
- The value for that is just south of $28M for the 2026 season specifically
The “nowhere” that Schefter is describing is obviously with regards to a long-term extension. It should be noted that the Cowboys took care of a different long-term deal earlier this week by finally inking kicker Brandon Aubrey to one, but the intensity that Schefter carries in his report may not be one that Dallas feels.
The Cowboys don’t need to move on Pickens right now
I am often the first to cast stones at the Cowboys for how they handle long-term deals. This is not something that they are good at or proactive with regards to. This is not breaking news to anyone.
Let me also offer that I was against the Pickens trade to begin with and that even though I was, I wrote immediately after that Dallas should have taken care of a long-term deal for him at the time. I understand now and understood then that people had questions about Pickens, but forcing a player to “prove it” is betting against yourself on some level. Water under the bridge, though.
Even though things could have arguably been done more smoothly a year ago, the Cowboys began these negotiations with Pickens with a baked-in advantage that they did not have when they negotiated with the likes of Dak Prescott (the most recent time), CeeDee Lamb, or Micah Parsons: the franchise tag.
Pickens and his representation have the lurking tag deadline of July 15th to navigate beyond their negotiations with the Cowboys. Should something not come to pass between the two parties then there is nothing that the Cowboys can do about it.
What’s more is that right now the Cowboys have an enormous value on their hands. They may have had that with a deal taken care of last year, but right now Pickens is being had for a bargain relative to the receiver market as noted. This is certainly unfair for players in the NFL, but that is why the Cowboys are in such a position of advantage here that they haven’t held in these types of talks. The game is rigged for their side.
And imagine if the Cowboys are wiped out and do take Tyson or Tate? They’d have more would-be leverage.
For what it’s worth Stephen Jones said during the team’s pre-draft press conference that the Cowboys are going to have Pickens play on the tag in 2026 and will not be negotiating a long-term deal. That may be posturing, though.
It is understandable for this to be a story, but right now the Cowboys don’t need to move on Pickens. Do you agree?
