The 3-5 Cowboys have plenty of problems. During the first of his two weekly radio spots on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, owner and G.M. Jerry Jones mentioned one specific thing that he’d like to see change.
Regarding receiver George Pickens, Jones said this, via Jon Machota of The Athletic: “He needs the ball coming his way more.”
Through eight games, Pickens has 62 targets. In Week 8 against the Cardinals, Pickens had the ball thrown in his direction only four times. Against the Eagles in Week 7, Pickens had six targets.
He has 39 catches for 533 yards and two touchdowns in 2026. That projects to 83 catches for 1,132 yards and 8.5 touchdowns.
In 2025, Pickens finished with 93 receptions, 1,429 yards, and nine scores.
Hovering over the situation is the decision the Cowboys will have to make after the season. He’s making $27.298 million under the franchise tag; they could tag him again next year, at $32.758 million. Which is still nearly $10 million behind the top of the receiver market.
There’s another option, now that the Cowboys are fading in the race for the NFC East title. They could make Pickens available in trade.
Would a contender offer a second-round pick for him? The Chiefs are currently desperate for help at receiver; they’re interested (we’re told) in Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr. and Colts receiver Josh Downs. If the Chiefs are in on Pickens, other teams in the AFC (like the Bills) should be thinking about it, too.
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If the Cowboys were to decide to make a move, they could stockpile a pick or two — and save $15.17 million in cash and cap space. For now, who knows? The Cowboys seem to be deluding themselves into thinking they’re still contenders.
Unless that’s just part of the annual effort to keep their fans coughing up cash for tickets and merch. Which continues to work very well, relative to the on-field production.
For 31 years, and counting.