Updated Jan. 18, 2026, 9:50 a.m. CT
Are the Dallas Cowboys going to have to trade George Pickens this spring? If so, what level of draft compensation should they expect?
Dallas has 21 pending free agents, with Pickens being the premiere player in that group, by a large margin. Dallas took a bit of a flyer on the former Georgia Bulldog, whose reputation slid him down the 2022 draft into the second round. His sideline and reported locker room antics caused several run ins with the league and his team during his three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Dallas landed Pickens and the final year of his rookie deal for the cost of their 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 Day 3 pick swap where they move back from the fifth to sixth round. Pickens’ first season with the club was phenomenal, earning him not just his first career Pro Bowl, but a Second-Team All-Pro designation (that Pickens vehemently feels undersold his performance). Now faced with his free agency, the Cowboys will look to negotiate a long-term deal with his agent, David Mulugheta.
Mulugheta, of course, is also the agent for Micah Parsons, and was publicly disrespected on a few occasions by owner Jerry Jones. The sides were at odds (as teams and agents often are) over a new deal for Parsons, and that eventually led to a trade with Green Bay where Mulugheta got Parsons a precedent shattering, nearly $47 million a year pact.
Now, he’s going to return to The Star in Frisco to see if the Cowboys and his other client, Pickens, can strike a deal.
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Both the Cowboys and Pickens have waxed poetically about wanting to continue their relationship. After Pickens’ struggled with horrible QB after horrible QB in Pittsburgh, playing with a top signal caller like Dak Prescott unlocked his ceiling, as did playing opposite top-five wideout CeeDee Lamb.
But that’s now a double-edged sword as Lamb is already paid handsomely at $34 million a year, and asset allocation dictates while Dallas can absolutely afford to pay both, it might not be wise to do so.
The Cowboys have short-term control, with the ability to franchise tag Pickens, but that’s not ideal because Dallas can’t use any of the salary cap accounting tricks when it’s just a one-year pact. In fact, if the tag is implemented and there’s no progress towards a long-term deal heading into draft season, the Cowboys may consider trading Pickens away.
If they do go that route, what’s a reasonable expectation for compensation coming back to Dallas?
For that, a look at recent trades for star wideouts is in order.
First, level setting. Pickens won’t turn 25 until the new league year in March. He’s missed just three games across his four seasons, all in 2024. He has just one 1,000-yard receiving campaign, this year when he amassed over 1,400 receiving yards. He also had a career high in TD receptions with nine, shattering his previous high of five. He’s averaged 16.0 yards a reception throughout his career as a deep-play threat, with elite catch-point skills.
Next, a look at comparable trades from the last few offseasons.
2025: Seahawks trade DK Metcalf to Steelers
Metcalf, 27 at the time, was a two-time Pro Bowler across his six years in Seattle. He had three 1,000-yard campaigns, barely missing a fourth among three with 900 or more. Seattle sent him and a sixth to Pittsburgh for a second and a seventh.
Metcalf Trade Chart Value: 365 points (approximately pick No. 53.5 overall)
2023: Panthers trade DJ Moore to Bears
Moore was traded heading into his Age 26 season, with three 1,100-plus seasons on his resume. This one is unique as analysis has to include the “trading up for a QB” tax. The deal was No. 1 overall (3000) for No. 9 (1350), No. 61 (292), next year 1st (800), next year 2nd (350), and Moore.
So let’s hypothetically say 400 points the QB tax., leaving a 600-point value for Moore.
Moore Trade Chart Value: 600 points (approximately pick No. 31)
2022: Titans trade AJ Brown to Eagles
Brown was traded after just three seasons with Tennessee, entering the final year of his rookie deal. He had turned in two 1,000-yard campaigns and proved to be a touchdown-scoring machine, with 19 in those first two seasons. Aside from being a touchdown machine, his first four years are very much aligned with Pickens’ both statistically and with a trade after Year 3.
The Eagles sent picks No. 18 (900) and No. 101 (96) over, giving the clearest direct value.
Brown Trade Chart Value: 996 points (approximante pick No. 16)
2022: Ravens trade Marquise Brown to Cardinals
Both Browns were traded on draft day, and perhaps the Ravens benefitted from the frenzy as Marquise Brown wasn’t really a big-play threat whatsoever, averaging just 12 yards a carry. He did have 91 receptions in his final season in Baltimore, where his 1,008 yards was his only campaign with over 770 yards.
The Cardinals gave up the No. 23 overall pick (760) for Brown and the Ravens’ third, No. 100 (100 points).
Brown Trade Chart Value: 660 points (No. 28 overall)
2022: Chiefs trade Tyreek Hill to Dolphins
Hill may have been the best talent at the time of their respective trade. He was a six-for-six Pro Bowler and three-time first team All-Pro. Miami paid a huge price for him, giving up five picks, a first, second and fourth, plus a future fourth and a future sixth.
No. 29 (640), No. 50 (400), No. 121 (52), future picks (45)
Hill Trade Chart Value: 1147 points (No. 13 overall)
2022: Packers trade Davante Adams to Raiders
Neck and neck with the Hill trade was Green Bay sending Adams to Las Vegas. An older wideout at the time (29), Adams was more of a late bloomer but had finished his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl campaign and second-straight First-Team All-Pro season.
The Packers got the Raiders’ first and second picks, No. 22 and No. 53 overall.
Adams Trade Chart Value: 1150 points (No. 13 overall)
2021: Falcons trade Julio Jones to Titans
The lone trade of a major wideout in 2021 also happened like the Pickens trade, following that year’s draft. Jones was set to enter his 11th season in the league and his Age 32 campaign. Still, he was a seven-time Pro Bowler, but was coming off just a nine-game season and commanded more compensation than what Dallas paid for Pickens; an unknown second-round pick and a Day 3 pick swap where they moved up from the sixth to fourth round.
Jones Trade Chart Value: 450 points (approximately No. 45 overall)
Where does George Pickens fit among recent top wideout trade values?
Pickens doesn’t come close to the resume of players like Adams, Hill and Jones at the times of their trades, though all of these players were on the back ends of their career primes (Hill, Adams) or past it (Jones). His career arc seems much more aligned with where AJ Brown was, though Brown had a horrible QB situation too and was far more productive (at least scoring wise) than Pickens after three years in a bad org.
With age and production taken into consideration, here’s our subjective ranking of where Pickens slots in amongs these players.
Adams (1150 pts)Hill (1147 pts)AJ Brown (996 pts)Pickens (750-900 pts)Marquise Brown (660 pts)Moore (600 pts)Jones (450 pts)Metcalf (365 pts)
This would place Pickens value in the late middle of the first round, between picks No. 18 and No. 24.