If Dallas is unable to agree to a long-term deal with their star wideout, the Cowboys may best be served by hitting George Pickens with a franchise tag and seeing if there is a trade to be made. And while beauty is in the eye of the beholder, taking a look at wide receiver trades from the past five seasons, a reasonable estimation of where Pickens would land in trade value compensation has emerged.
The Cowboys can probably expect Pickens to land them between 800 and 950 points on the Jimmy Johnson trade value chart; the equivalent of a pick somewhere between pick No. 18 and pick No. 21. Even with that knowledge, there are still two very important pieces to a deal being consummated. One, which teams would be interested in paying the price, and two, which teams would Pickens accept a trade to.
No team is going to trade for Pickens without an extension attached to the deal, so the wideout and his agent, David Mulugheta, would work out those details much like Mulugheta did for Micah Parsons in the Green Bay trade. Here’s a look at a handful of teams that would fit the bill, pun intended.
1. Buffalo Bills (Picks No. 26, No. 90)
The Bills are going to open a new stadium in 2026, but were once again bounced from the playoffs in a season where they expected to reach the Super Bowl. Buffalo has a top-tier QB in Josh Allen, who has finished top-5 in MVP votes four times already, including winning in 2024. He could finish top 5 again in 2025, despite the team’s inability to find him a top receiving weapon. Buffalo could easily justify seeing Pickens as the missing piece to their offense, allowing their other receivers to fall back on the depth chart.
The No. 26 pick is only worth 700 points, so the Bills would have to also through in their third-round pick, worth 140 points.
2. San Francisco 49ers (Pick No. 27 , No. 91)
The 49ers were also bounced out the divisional round on Saturday, and likewise have a dire wideout depth chart. Their top player, Brandon Aiyuk, is certainly on his way out of the organization and the team doesn’t have any one set to replace him. Adding Pickens to George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey into Kyle Shanahan’s system would be a Super Bowl caliber skill group.
Would the Cowboys tax their longtime rival a bit more? Maybe SF would have to do a pick swap of a second third-round pick (they have three) in exchange for Dallas’ fourth.
3. Los Angeles Chargers (Picks No. 22, No. 123)
The Chargers had offensive issues that reached farther than their health problems along the offensive line. Their top three wideouts all played at least 14 games each, and non reached 800 receiving yards. Adding Pickens to the mix, along with their tackles returning, could unlock Justin Herbert to actually play at the level so many think he already is at.
4. New England Patriots (Picks No. 30, No. 62 for Pickens, No. 112)
The Patriots pick is a projection right now, as they are still alive in this year’s playoffs. 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.
Dallas would have to include their fourth rounder to make this work pick value wise.
5. Indianapolis Colts (No. 47, No. 80, ’27 3rd rounder for Pickens, No. 112)
The Colts are facing a situation where their top wideout, Alec Pierce, is a pending free agent, just like Pickens. If they lose him to another team, they’d actually be upgrading, but the problem is their first rounder is already the property of the New York Jets.
There’s also the chance here for a player swap, if the Colts also threw in additional pick compensation.
Pierce has led the NFL in yards per reception each of the last two seasons at 21.8, but hasn’t seen nearly the volume of targets or receptions. The club would have to thrown in at least their third-round pick to sweeten the deal.
6. Carolina Panthers (No. 19)
A wild-card here, but it has a foundation in wise talent acquisition. The Panthers don’t have to pay Tetoria McMillan for another several seasons, and adding Pickens to that offense would seemingly give them so much to build on after jumping to eight wins in an easily winnable division. The bigger question is would Pickens want to play with Bryce Young?
Wild Card: Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 21)
With Mike Tomlin retiring, what if the Steelers organization decided they wanted to give it another go with Pickens. Would he be open to such things with a new head coach and philosophy? One would have to imagine the Steelers having a better long-term solution at QB than running it back with grandpa Aaron Rodgers in 2026, to pique Pickens’ interest.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: 7 teams that make sense as Pickens trade spots include Bills, 49ers
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