{"id":2615,"date":"2026-06-01T06:54:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T23:54:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.drinkfood.info\/?p=2615"},"modified":"2026-06-01T06:54:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T23:54:33","slug":"%f0%9f%9a%a8breaking-after-george-pickens-delivered-an-all-time-great-season-with-1426-yards-the-dallas-cowboys-are-facing-an-expensive-reality-with-ceedee-lamb-already-earning-34-million-per-yea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.drinkfood.info\/?p=2615","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udea8BREAKING: After George Pickens delivered an all-time great season with 1,426 yards, the Dallas Cowboys are facing an expensive reality. With CeeDee Lamb already earning $34 million per year and Pickens hitting franchise tag territory, analysts warn that the team won’t pay two wide receivers at the top of the market for long. Fans are being told to enjoy this elite duo in 2026, as the organization may soon be forced to make a dramatic choice between its two superstar wideouts.\ud83d\udc47"},"content":{"rendered":"

Certainly, when the\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0made a trade for star receiver\u00a0George Pickens\u00a0of the\u00a0Steelers\u00a0a\u00a0 bit more than a year ago, the hope was that Pickens would slot in as a good No. 2 option behind\u00a0CeeDee Lamb, and the Cowboys could move forward with a solid wide receiver hierarchy from there. But the problem, of course, is that Pickens came out and had an all-time great season for Dallas, his 1,426 yards ranking fourth in the franchise\u2019s single-season record book.<\/p>\n

\"George<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a good problem to have. But Pickens playing like a WR1 is how the Cowboys wound up in a position in which they had to either pay Pickens like a WR1 or franchise tag him at one year and $27 million, which is near WR1 money. With Lamb on the books for $34 million per year, that\u2019s an expensive receiver duo.<\/p>\n

The Cowboys will have that in place this year. But Zach Wolchuk of 105.3 The Fan in Dallas and \u201cThe Love of the Star\u201d podcast says Cowboys fans should appreciate it while it\u2019s here\u2013because it won\u2019t be for long.<\/p>\n

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\u2018Enjoy George Pickens in 2026\u2019<\/h2>\n

Speaking on \u201cThe Love of the Star,\u201d Wolchuk said that the Cowboys will eventually need to pick a receiver. In 10 months, the Cowboys will either need to tag Pickens again or give him a long-term deal,\u00a0 with the tag price going up to around $33 million. With Lamb on board, again, that\u2019s $67 million for two receivers.<\/p>\n

Wolchuk even floated the notion of trading Lamb and keeping Pickens. But not both.<\/p>\n

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Said Wolchuk: \u201cPickens, I really don\u2019t think, is going to be here past this season. I think we need to enjoy George Pickens as a Dallas Cowboys in 2026. Now, maybe they get into a situation where George Pickens is so good and he is such a great fit that, call me crazy here, they look to sign Pickens and trade CeeDee Lamb, which I hate the idea of, but I think that\u2019s what you\u2019re going to look at here.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think they want to pay\u2014Stephen Jones told us, they don\u2019t want to pay two wide receivers at the top of the market.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Cowboys Could Stretch on Wide Receiver Payouts in 2027<\/h2>\n

But, if this season proves successful and the Cowboys win, say, 11 games and advance to the NFC Championship game, with the offense continuing to hum, the Cowboys could at least bring back Pickens for one more run in an expensive combo with Lamb. The tag would be expensive, but short-term.<\/p>\n

That was the retort from RJ Ochoa of\u00a0Blogging the Boys, the guest on the podcast. It won\u2019t be an easy fit, but the Cowboys could make it work for one more year. Pickens would still be a relative bargain.<\/p>\n

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