The Dallas Cowboys have one surefire way to keep George Pickens in the fold by placing the franchise tag on him for 2026.
It’s also a surefire way for Pickens to be miserable in 2026, as the mercurial NFL All-Pro wide receiver likely won’t take kindly to not being able to test the free agent market.
In the case Pickens is able to hit the free-agent market, he’s hands down the No. 1 player in the 2026 cycle and while a lot of teams will go after him, Pro Football Focus singled out the one team where he would likely be the difference in winning a Super Bowl. That team is the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed, the Denver Broncos, who just lost to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.
PFF’s Bradley Locker listed Pickens as the one free agent the Broncos need to go after this offseason, with his contract likely to be in the range of a 4-year, $122.4 million contract that pays him $30.6 million per year.
Pickens Just Played Out Rookie Contract
Pickens finished the last season of his 4-year, $6.75 million rookie contract by playing the best season of his career and was third in the NFL with 93 receptions for 1,429 yards and 9 touchdowns — all career highs.
“The Broncos advanced to the AFC Championship Game on the heels of their elite defense, but their offense remains a bit of a worry going into 2026,” Locker wrote. “Denver will need to better a unit that ranked 25th in passing success rate, and a weapon like Pickens would enable exactly that. Pickens grew immensely in his first season in Dallas, playing to a career-best 87.2 PFF receiving grade with 2.35 yards per route run. Although the Broncos will return Courtland Sutton, the team finished 26th in collective receiving grade. Boasting $27 million in cap space before restructures, the Broncos can afford a big-time signing on offense — and there’s none better than Pickens at receiver.”
Broncos Head Coach Rips Wide Receivers
It didn’t take long for Broncos head coach Sean Payton to convey his dissatisfaction with his wide receivers following the season, both in his words and in his actions.
“I’m going to look at it and be critical of myself, and I think there were a number of things that we just had to do better,” Payton said after the loss to the Patriots. “We didn’t finish some runs, and we dropped some passes. Again, felt like that was a problem all year.”
Payton fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi 2 days later, then fired wide receivers coach Keary Colbert the day after that.
If the Broncos don’t get a home run player like Pickens in free agency, there’s still a great group to pick from that includes Alec Pierce, Mike Evans and Romeo Doubs, among others.
The only thing clear right now is the Broncos don’t currently have an elite NFL wide receiver on their roster.
“The Broncos cannot afford to go bargain-bin shopping for wide receivers this offseason,” Predominantly Orange’s Sayre Bedinger wrote on X. “They cannot have another offseason of ‘almost’ moves or finishing 2nd in the bidding for their top target. And they don’t just need one, either.”
Broncos Urged to Make ‘Big Time’ Move for NFL All-Pro WR