Stephen Jones just put George Pickens right back on the radar for Patriots fans.
That’s not because New England is suddenly in the receiver market today. The Patriots already made their big swing this offseason, shipping out a 2028 first-round pick to land A.J.
Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles on June 1. They also locked in Romeo Doubs on a four-year deal in March.
But the rest of the room is built on shorter timelines, and that’s where the future starts to get interesting.
Mack Hollins and DeMario Douglas are both headed into the year on expiring deals, which means Mike Vrabel’s group could be shopping for another pass-catcher by 2027. If that happens, Pickens is a name worth watching - especially after Jones addressed his own receiver situation in Dallas.
"You look at the situation we have with George Pickens, going alongside CeeDee [Lamb], most teams - I don't know of any teams that really can pay two top receivers top of the market,” Jones said this week on the DLLS Cowboys podcast. “So that's going to be a real difficult situation as we move forward.”
That’s the kind of quote that keeps a player on the board for everyone else.
Pickens is set to play the 2026 season on a fully-guaranteed $27.2 million franchise tag, and he’d hit unrestricted free agency in 2027 if Dallas doesn’t tag him again. But a second tag would jump past $32 million fully guaranteed, and that’s where the math starts to get uncomfortable for the Cowboys.
CeeDee Lamb is already staring at a massive $46 million cap hit next season, and Dallas will need to handle that either with a restructure or an extension. If Pickens’ price climbs too, things could get messy fast.
That’s why a tag-and-trade setup, or Pickens simply reaching the market, still feels very much in play.
For New England, the books could line up better than people might think. Brown turns 30 during next year’s training camp, but his current contract - which technically runs through 2029 with five void years attached - gives the Patriots room to work on the money and keep him around for the next two or three seasons.
Doubs is already secured. And beyond that, the Patriots’ spending picture looks manageable.
They rank 26th in cash spending on player salaries this season, but that changes once Brown’s $27.45 million option bonus is paid out this month and Christian Gonzalez’s new money gets added in. Spotrac currently has New England with less than $250 million in 2027 cash commitments, while the salary cap is projected to reach $323 million. Even after taking care of Drake Maye, Gonzalez and Brown, there should be room for a major move.
That’s where Pickens fits as more than just a name. He could be the next layer of the Patriots’ receiver build: an elite “X” on the boundary, with Brown sliding into the more mismatch-heavy “Z” role and Doubs taking over as the main slot option in place of Douglas.
It’s far from a sure thing. Too many things have to break the right way. But Pickens is exactly the kind of player Patriots fans should keep circling, because if he becomes available, New England should have a real shot at making a run.
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