Purely focusing on the 2026 NFL season, the Dallas Cowboys are sitting beautifully. With George Pickens tagged, several promising and already-producing players on rookie deals and Javonte Williams brought back at a palatable price, the Cowboys are well-positioned to make a deep run.
And while neither the Cowboys nor their fanbase wants to focus on anything other than taking back the NFC East this season, the big picture still matters in Dallas. In fact, it looms large, especially as it pertains to Pickens and how they intend to pay him and still afford everyone else they want and need.
If the Cowboys do end up paying top dollar to keep Pickens in Dallas, then cuts will surely have to be made. That is the price of doing business in the NFL. But there are limits to compensating even the best of players, and one reporter's take on Pickens goes far beyond that line.
Albert Breer believes George Pickens could be Dallas Cowboys' WR1 over CeeDee Lamb by 2028
Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer sifted through another mailbag on Tuesday. When he was asked if Pickens can overtake CeeDee Lamb as the Cowboys' No. 1 wide receiver in 2027, Breer replied with the only one-word answer that makes sense.
"No."
But Breer quickly qualified his answer in somewhat ridiculous fashion.
"But I could see that in 2028," Breer said. "If Pickens becomes a top of the food chain receiver, like it looked like he was becoming last year. Since he was a teenager, he had the potential to get there, right? He's been viewed by NFL people this way for a long, long time. The character stuff, the off-field, whatever you want to call it, has gotten in the way of all of that. If he becomes that this year, and he takes it up even another notch from where he was last year, then I think the Cowboys have a good dilemma on their hands."
What is that good dilemma, exactly? Well, to Breer, it's a difficult conversation to be had about choosing either Pickens or Lamb, and not employing both of them while letting the Cowboys' talent bleed elsewhere or asking veterans to take a pay cut for a chance at a ring.
"If they wind up paying George Pickens over $40 million per year to be that guy for them, and that would take him walking the straight and narrow all year and proving it again from a character standpoint and showing that he's grown up and all that different stuff, in addition to the production. But if they were going to pay him at that level, now I think you have a little bit of an issue with CeeDee Lamb. Because CeeDee Lamb has been your No. 1, and if you look at the recent history, a lot of players in this day and age now look at it and say, 'The end of my contract isn't the end of my contract. The end of my contract is the end of my guaranteed money.' And the reality is that the deal that CeeDee Lamb did in 2024, most of the guaranteed money is done after this year. I believe he's got $7 million guaranteed after this year in 2027. If you pay Pickens at the highest level, and now you have CeeDee Lamb coming back, and there's not much guaranteed money left in his contract, does he make noise about that? Does that become a problem?"
Sure, Lamb will need some more guaranteed money in the near future. But why can't Dallas be the team to give him that? The salary cap steadily climbs every single year, and the Cowboys aren't the only team that has to pay multiple stars. Other franchises make it work.
It is said by many that the salary cap is fake, and in a way, it is. Obviously, it is very real, but it can be manipulated quite easily if Dallas has some smart people in charge. Breer, however, remained adamant that it could be either or.
"I don't see a scenario where CeeDee Lamb won't be on the roster in '27; I think he's probably still there. But signing Pickens could be with the idea that you're essentially going to move from Lamb to Pickens. And Lamb's been a great player for them. I think Pickens probably has a little bit of a higher ceiling."
We can debate ceilings all we want. But Lamb has the actual production and accolades to prove that he's worth his high price tag. With Pickens, at least at this juncture of the offseason, we are making an educated guess.
So, while Cowboys fans welcome any and all Pickens hype, particularly if it centers around him cleaning up his act and proving himself worthy of a hefty contract, there are clear limits to this. Breer proved that there is such a thing as being too high on him.
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