The Dallas Cowboys' wide receiver duo could become one of the franchise's biggest financial decisions after the 2026 season. However, former NFL head coach Jon Gruden believes there should be little debate about keeping the wideouts George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb together.

In a video uploaded on his YouTube Channel, Gruden urged the Cowboys to keep both Pickens and Lamb together on the team. 

“Can the Cowboys keep both receivers after this season?” Jon Gruden said in “Gruden’s NFC East Preview” video uploaded to his YouTube channel on July 29. “This is 17% of the salary cap in these two wide receivers. If I'm the Cowboys, I say as long as they're great, I'm keeping them both. It's hard to find guys who can do this much damage to a defense.”

According to “Gruden’s NFC East Preview” video on his YouTube channel, Gruden stated that the duo's production was “outstanding” in the 2025 season after the Cowboys traded for Pickens from the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Pickens racked up 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns last season while Lamb came up with 1,077 yards and three touchdowns. Both of them earned Pro Bowl honors.

He believes the dynamic duo of Cowboys are “the best wide receiver duo in the NFL," compared to Cincinnati Bengals Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase.

Though Gruden acknowledges the cap constraints of paying Lamb ($34 million) and Pickens (franchise tag $27.3 million), he believes the duo is one of the elite passing threats in the NFL. 

"But how do you cover him when it's one-on-one coverage?" Gruden said in the video. "Prescott looks over to George Pickens, and it's a hand signal, man. He has over 500 yards receiving Pickens does against one-on-one coverage. As soon as Prescott sees one-on-one over there with George Pickens, you know where the ball's going."

Gruden argued that Pickens' ability to consistently win isolated matchups gives Prescott an easy read before the snap, making the Cowboys' passing attack more dangerous.

All in all, the former HC believes the Cowboys' wide receiver tandem damages defenses by creating tough one-on-one matchups, forcing the defenders to make constant adjustments.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys are already sure about Pickens' future.

Jerry Jones envisions long-term future for George Pickens in Dallas

During the Cowboys' training camp opening press conference on July 28, the Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones expressed his desire for Pickens to stay with the Cowboys till his football retirement.

"Make no mistake about it, George could be a Cowboy for the rest of his career and that’d be a long time," Jones said during the 2026 training camp opening press conference as posted by the Cowboys' official YouTube channel on July 29. "Make no mistake about it. This (franchise tag) just fit for us, and thank goodness it fit for him, and we got it done.”

July 15th marked the deadline for franchise-tagged players to enter multiyear deals. But Dallas could not make any decision about the wide receiver within that timeframe.

Jones, however, said the Cowboys view Pickens as a central piece of their Super Bowl aspirations, adding that a career-best season in his contract year would create a win-win scenario for both the player and the organization.

Do you agree with Jon Gruden that Pickens and Lamb are the NFL's best wide receiver duo? Tell us what you think.

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Written by

Archana Ramakrishnan

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar