Early April saw Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' assurance that they had “long-term plans” with George Pickens. But a recent press conference revealed that that was not the case. The Cowboys have finalized their stance on Pickens' deal ahead of the draft. 

The Dallas Cowboys held their pre-NFL Draft Press Conference ahead of the 2026 NFL draft on April 22 with Cowboys leadership addressed and answering questions. Garrett Podell from CBS Sports asked COO Stephen Jones about George Pickens and where long-term contract negotiations stood.

"I think we've made a decision that we're going to have George play under the franchise tag, which won't be a first for us. So there won't be negotiations on a long-term deal," Stephen Jones said.

Stephen Jones cited the expenditure of maintaining two top-tier receivers when asked to elaborate on why the decision.The Cowboys are investing heavily at the wide receiver position with CeeDee Lamb at $34M annually and George Pickens at $27.29M per year on the franchise tag. 

"It's not easy having two receivers being paid top of the market - that's obviously a stretch, especially when you have other great players on your team and a quarterback who's been the highest-paid player in this league for many years,” Stephen Jones said.

As former GM Mike Tannenbaum noted, any major extension for Pickens would likely prompt CeeDee Lamb to push for a raise as well.

Despite ongoing contract uncertainty, Schottenheimer’s expectation is that Pickens will remain engaged through the offseason and continue as a central piece of the offense. With the WR's retention, the Cowboys could have some space to navigate the offense picks as well.

The Cowboys hint at flipping their draft script

During the pre-NFL Draft Press Conference ahead of the 2026 NFL draft, Jones hinted at the possibility of going offense, rather than the expected defense picks. 

ESPN's Todd Archer asked Jerry whether the Cowboys would be more flexible and proactive with their picks, given the defensive needs.  

“We were strong-oriented toward defense in the Lamb draft and we didn't go that way. We went with Lamb. That's alive and well. We would, given the right circumstances, go offense." Jones said to Archer. 

According to ESPN, Adam Schefter, the Cowboys could flip the script and land a wide receiver at the No. 12 spot, which attributes to Jones’ remark during the conference.

Schefter projected Ohio State Buckeyes Carnell Tate and Arizona State Sun Devils Jordyn Tyson to be a possible pick for the Cowboys to pick at No. 12, if the top defensive players are off the board by then.

With the franchise tag decision confirmed, the Cowboys picking a potential WR3 is not out of question in the upcoming draft.

Will George Pickens' franchise tag shift the Cowboys' picks to defense in the upcoming draft? Let us know in the comments!

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Written by

Archana Ramakrishnan

Edited by

Surjo Roy