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George Pickens #3 of the Dallas Cowboys
There’s no doubt that the Dallas Cowboys struck gold when they dumped a third-round draft pick before the season for wide receiver George Pickens. The Steelers had trouble with Pickens in terms of attitude and approach, and with his free-agency coming after the 2025 season, they wanted him out. But once he left Pittsburgh and came to Dallas, Pickens was mostly an upright citizen, well-liked in the locker room.
And on the field, he had a major breakout year, going for 93 catches, 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns. Pickens was eighth in the NFL in reception and third in receiving yards.
The Cowboys always knew they were in a good position with Pickens heading into the year because, in giving up a third-rounder, they knew that if Pickens was even just pretty good this season and left Dallas, he would get a free-agent contract that would yield the Cowboys a third-round compensatory pick. They’d get a year of Pickens and lose nothing.
But then Pickens exploded, and that changed everything for him and the Cowboys.
Cowboys Could Be Priced Out on George Pickens
Now, there is the possibility that the Cowboys just can’t afford to pay Pickens, even after some of the salary-cap gymnastics that are available to them. They need to vastly improve the defense, and if Pickens warrants a top-of-the-market, $30 million-plus per year deal, that might be a bridge too far.
The Cowboys can franchise tag Pickens but what if he indicates he will hold out for a long-term deal? The Cowboys’ better move in that case would be to trade him for top-notch draft compensation sooner rather than later (operating “sooner” is not always Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’s strength).
With that in mind, the USA Today site Cowboys Wire put together trades that would make sense for Pickens–essentially, tag-and-trade deals that would allow Pickens’ next team to work out his long-term contract.
There are six candidates–the Bills, 49ers, Chargers, Colts and Panthers, with one standout. That would be the Patriots, who could potentially offer the best value with a first-round and second-round pick.
Patriots get: George Pickens, fourth-round pick
Cowboys get: first-round pick (No. 30) and second-round pick (No. 62)
George Pickens Trade a Possibility?
That would give the Cowboys three first-round picks, Nos. 12, 20 and 30. It would also give the Cowboys a second-rounder, which is important–Dallas has no second or third-round picks this year. The Cowboys could use one of their first-rounders to trade down for multiple Day 2 picks, theoretically.
As Cowboys Wire’s KD Drummond writes, “The interesting thing here is New England has a WR1 in Stefon Diggs, but he’s facing an offseason of legal trouble and the team can easily release him from the final two years of his contract without much damage to their cap situation. Drake Maye is likely to win the MVP this season, so it would seem going to a top AFC team with a young star QB would be to Pickens’ liking.”
Cowboys Want to Keep Him
Of course, Pickens has been clear that he wants to stay with the Cowboys. And Jones has been clear that he wants Pickens back.
“As much as we think he is exceptional as a player, his love of the game and his passion about the game is unquestionable, that’s strong stuff,” Jones said.
As for when he might work out a Pickens deal, Jones said: “Those are the kinds of things, what’s sooner, what’s later, how bad do you want me, does that mean that you should have been at the doorstep the other night? I don’t want to get into those kinds of assessments of how much we are trying. He is an outstanding player. We don’t have some of the issues we might have had, and we are very proud.”
But Cowboys’ negotiations have gone sideways before. There is certainly some logic in cashing out on Pickens for draft picks now.
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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