The Cowboys may already be staring at a familiar offseason headache: what to do with George Pickens.
Pickens is Dallas’ leader in receptions and receiving yards in 2025, but he’s doing it on a one-year franchise tag worth $27.3 million. He’s set to become a free agent in 2027, and even with CeeDee Lamb drawing the top billing to open the season, Pickens has shown enough to put himself in line for a major payday. The question has always been whether Dallas would be willing to meet that price with Lamb already locked in at $34 million per season.
That possibility looks even shakier after the Cowboys’ latest move. Ahead of Week 4, they traded for cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who is also headed toward free agency. Jerry Jones has said he wants to extend Porter, and that kind of commitment would make it tougher to keep paying for another expensive receiver alongside Lamb.
That backdrop is why NFL Draft On SI’s Justin Melo has Dallas turning to the draft for help in his recent 2027 NFL Mock Draft. In Melo’s projection, the Cowboys land at No. 15 and choose Texas wide receiver Cam Coleman.
Dallas’ draft slot in the mock comes from a pair of trade-related picks. The Cowboys will get the worse of their own selection and the one belonging to the Green Bay Packers, which they acquired in the Micah Parsons trade.
The better pick goes to the New York Jets as part of the Quinnen Williams deal. In Melo’s setup, that leaves the Jets at No. 12 and Dallas on the clock at 15.
Melo views Coleman as the natural answer if Pickens walks, pointing to the receiver’s ability to work downfield.
“Wide receiver George Pickens is in a contract year after the Cowboys wouldn't go beyond the franchise tag in negotiations. Texas' Cam Coleman is an easy swap, as his elite downfield ball skills would make him a like-for-like replacement,” Melo wrote.
Coleman is listed at 6-foot-3 and 204 pounds. He started his college career at Auburn, where he posted 93 catches for 1,306 yards and 13 touchdowns.
In four games at Texas, he has 12 receptions for 208 yards and four touchdowns. His 17.3 yards per catch jumps off the page, especially in a Dallas offense that already has Lamb in place.
If Pickens is gone, Dak Prescott would still have options. With Lamb, Coleman, and Ryan Flournoy, the Cowboys could at least keep a dangerous top three on the field.
In Other News...
Joey Porter Jr. Changed Houstons Entire Plan In Cowboys Debut
Joey Porter Jr. arrived in a Cowboys uniform for Week 4 against the Houston Texans and immediately altered the way Houston approached the passing game. The cornerback, acquired from the Pittsburgh Steelers, logged 24 defensive snaps in his season and Dallas debut, and the Texans quickly showed they wanted little part of testing him in coverage.
Instead of leaning on his side, Houston largely steered its attention toward other Dallas cornerbacks, leaving Porter matched up against the Texans top receiver without a target. He was thrown at once and did not allow a completion, a small sample to be sure, but one that suggested the Cowboys may already have added a defender offenses are going to notice right away. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Let One Cowboys Receiver Take Over When It Mattered Most
CeeDee Lamb made sure the Cowboys left Houston with a win, turning a tight road game into a showcase for Dallas top pass catcher. In a 34-30 victory over the Texans, Lamb piled up 17 catches for 189 yards and a touchdown, the kind of workload that kept Dallas moving when it needed it most and helped deliver the team its second win of the season.
The volume was as striking as the production, with Lambs 17 receptions tying him for the seventh-most in a single NFL game. For a Cowboys offense still looking for consistency, the performance was a reminder of how quickly one receiver can tilt a game when the situation demands it, even if the bigger question is how often Dallas can lean on that kind of night going forward. [Read more 🡒]
CeeDee Lamb Sent A Strong Message On Brian Schottenheimer
CeeDee Lambs afternoon against the Texans already stood out as one of the biggest individual performances of his career, and the timing made it even more meaningful for a Cowboys offense that needed a lift. His 17 catches for 189 yards and the game-winning touchdown helped Dallas escape with a 34-30 victory, a result that offered a much-needed jolt after the frustration of the previous week.
Brian Schottenheimer was part of the backdrop to all of it. The Cowboys offensive coordinator had taken heat after the loss to the Ravens, but Lamb made sure his support was public once the win was in hand. For a Dallas team trying to stack good weeks together, the message mattered almost as much as the result, especially with Tampa Bay waiting on Thursday Night Football. [Read more 🡒]