Dolphins’ Jaylen Waddle trade could reopen a door Browns fans thought was closed

The Cleveland Browns were calculated in their approach to the first wave of 2026 free agency, notably passing on their need at wide receiver altogether. Their calculations were justified when Alec Pierce of the Colts landed himself a new four-year, $114 million contract despite not yet catching more than 50 passes in a season.

This year’s unspectacular free-agent class has led to an uptick in wide receiver trade activity, with Michael Pittman Jr. to the Steelers and D.J. Moore to the Bills the early headliners.

That was until Tuesday’s whopper: The Miami Dolphins sending Jaylen Waddle to the Denver Broncos in exchange for first- and third-round draft picks in 2026, as well as a fourth-round pick swap.

That move figures to have a major ripple effect for players like A.J. Brown, who’s expected to leave the Eagles via trade at some point this offseason. Waddle's been productive as a former No. 6 overall draft pick, but his last 1,000-yard season was in 2023, and he’s only scored 27 total touchdowns over his first five seasons in the league.

Miami fetching a first-round pick and more for Waddle just reset the market. The Eagles’ asking price for Brown will almost certainly rise, and per Cowboys expert Jerry Trotta of The Landry Hat, Jerry Jones could look to capitalize by shopping George Pickens, who remains unsigned after Dallas placed its non-exclusive franchise tag on the 25-year-old wideout back in February.

“The million-dollar question is how much Pickens’ value has risen since last offseason, when he was available for just a third-rounder,” Trotta wrote. “He’s also not under contract, meaning any acquiring team would have to pay him north of $30 million per year on top of surrendering draft picks."

Jaylen Waddle trade could put George Pickens back in play for the Browns

The Browns hold a pair of first-round picks in the 2026 draft, including No. 24 overall, and if the Cowboys’ contract standoff with Pickens continues into late April, Jones will almost certainly weigh his options to avoid another summer-long dispute. He recently traded one of the top assets in professional sports in Micah Parsons, so shopping Pickens is well within his wheelhouse. 

Pickens would’ve been a logical target for the Browns had he hit free agency. He won a national title with Georgia in 2021, when current Cleveland head coach Todd Monken was the offensive coordinator for the Bulldogs. He asserted himself as a true No. 1 wide receiver for the Cowboys last year after posting 1,429 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, doing most of that damage as the No. 2 option to CeeDee Lamb.

There would be no such competition in Cleveland’s wide receiver room, but acquiring Pickens remains a tricky proposition. Under the non-exclusive tag, any NFL team can submit an offer sheet to the Cowboys for Pickens, but Dallas has all the leverage. Jones can either match any offer and keep Pickens on his roster, or decline the offer and automatically receive two first-round draft picks from the acquiring team.

Pickens is definitely a better wide receiver prospect than Waddle entering the 2026 season, but he’s not worth two first-round picks. The Browns would first need to negotiate a trade, likely in the range of No. 24 overall, plus another selection on Day 2 or 3, and then negotiate an extension with Pickens’ representation as part of the deal.

The Browns currently hold nine total selections in this year’s draft. If they’re willing to offer Dallas picks No. 24 and No. 107, which falls near the top of the fourth round, for Pickens, Jones would likely have a hard time passing. The first-round pick Denver sent to Miami for Waddle is No. 30 overall, so the Cowboys would get their value, and the Browns will land the kind of wide receiver talent they’re not going to find in this 2026 draft class, especially not at No. 24 overall.

As for the compensation, the Browns recently had an influx of cap space, and Berry has more levers he can pull this year if needed. Cleveland can easily fit Pickens on their books at his projected market value of $30.6 million per year, sign their rookie class, and have plenty of space left over for the 2026 regular season. The team will also be in a much healthier cap situation in 2027, after Deshaun Watson gets designated as a post-June 1 release as planned.

No one’s really been talking about a Pickens trade since he was tagged by Dallas, but to Trotta’s point, the Waddle trade will likely pique Jones’ interest, especially if Pickens refuses to sign his one-year tender for $27.2 million. If Jones does end up taking calls on Pickens, Berry and the Browns should definitely come calling with their best offer.