If the Cleveland Browns were going to make a major move at wide receiver prior to the 2026 NFL Draft, their potential top target was clear as day.
It became painfully clear in February that star wideout George Pickens and the Dallas Cowboys were heading for a contract stalemate. The Cowboys used their non-exclusive franchise tag on Pickens to essentially block him from testing free agency in 2026.
Had he hit the open market, the Browns would have made a lot of sense as a potential destination.
Cleveland entered the new league year needing an alpha wide receiver like Pickens after rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. led the team in every major receiving category in 2025. Pickens also has a connection to Browns head coach Todd Monken. They won a national championship together with the Georgia Bulldogs during the 2021 season, with Monken as offensive coordinator.
Dallas’ move all but ended any path to Pickens reuniting with Monken this year, though. While Pickens was technically free to test his market in free agency, the Cowboys held the right to match any offer via the non-exclusive tag. Had Dallas passed on an offer sheet for Pickens, the acquiring team would have had to send the Cowboys two first-round draft picks.
The Browns could still attempt to trade for Pickens, who recently signed his $27.2 million tender with the Cowboys and intends to play ball on that one-year deal in 2026. But it seems unlikely that Dallas would accept much less value than those two first-rounders, and that’s a price Cleveland definitely won’t pay.
Especially when the Browns could potentially hold onto their draft capital and attempt to sign Pickens as an unrestricted free agent in 2027.
Former NFL executive Louis Riddick put it bluntly on ESPN this week: Pickens and the Cowboys are destined for a split at the end of this season.
“To me this sounds like a situation that is setting up for 2026 to be George’s last season in Dallas,” Riddick said of Pickens. “George kind of realizes that. And that’s why he said, hey look, I’m going to sign the tender for one year and just kind of rip it up this year and then let the chips fall where they may in the offseason in 2027. There’s really no other way to look at it.”
George Pickens could become the Browns' biggest offseason target in 2027
GM Andrew Berry told reporters at this year’s scouting combine that the team was still a year away from making a major signing in free agency. Pickens could easily fit that timeline in 2027.
"I think realistically we may be one more offseason away from being like hyper-aggressive in that window,” Berry said. “But if there's something that fits us, fits our roster, fits our timeline, then it's certainly a swing we'll take."
If Pickens does indeed hit free agency in March of 2027, he will likely command a contract in the range of Garrett Wilson, who got four years and $130 million from the Jets, with $90 million in guarantees, per Spotrac. That’s obviously a sizable investment, but the Browns should be well positioned to make an offer in that range with so many young, cost-controlled pieces on their current roster.
Cleveland, of course, just added a pair of rookie wide receivers in KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston. Both players have major upside and complementary skill sets, but they’re not yet on the same tier as Pickens, who was just voted as one of the NFL’s top-10 receivers in ESPN's annual poll of league executives, scouts, and coaches.
The Browns have another ascending young receiver in Isaiah Bond, but the top of their depth chart in 2025, Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman, could feasibly be playing elsewhere in 2027. Wide receiver could once again be a need next offseason, and winning the Pickens sweepstakes would be a major score for Cleveland ahead of the 2027 draft. The Browns will be holding a pair of first-round picks and are expected to target a quarterback.
Dallas obviously has the power to block Pickens once again via a second straight franchise tag, which would be approximately $32.7 million. That would be a fully guaranteed number accounting for around 10 percent of the Cowboys’ salary cap, though, so it may not be a feasible option unless Dallas intends to use a tag-and-trade strategy.
Jerry Jones and the Cowboys are known for kicking the can down the road on major contract decisions. It would have been the better financial move to extend Pickens this year, prior to looming contracts for Puka Nacua and Chris Olave, but the Cowboys never seem to pass on good ol' contract standoff.
This is definitely a situation for Browns fans to monitor. If Cleveland’s young core can generate some positive momentum under Monken this season, Berry and Co. could be ready to pounce on key veteran additions next March.
There’s a strong chance that Pickens is high on their wish list. He should be, at least.
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