“Dallas’ hesitation to negotiate a long-term deal with Pickens opens up the possibility for a trade midway through the upcoming campaign,” Moton wrote. “If Ryan Flournoy blossoms in a complementary role, the Cowboys could trade Pickens to a receiver-needy contending team like the Kansas City Chiefs, who don’t have a reliable lead perimeter playmaker.”

The Chiefs’ lead playmaker the last 2 seasons has either been hurt or suspended — wide receiver Rashee Rice just missed an entire month of offseason work rehabbing a knee injury after serving 30 days in jail over a probation violation.

Chiefs and George Pickens Could Be ELECTRIC

While Pickens has his own issues, they’re not close to that extreme, and in 2025, he showed he might be a Top 5 NFL wide receiver with career highs of 93 receptions, 1,429 yards, and 9 touchdowns. He was also named NFL All-Pro for the 1st time.

The thought of getting Pickens catching passes from 2-time NFL MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes and having plays called for him by 3-time Super Bowl champion head coach Andy Reid — a pair of future Pro Football Hall of Famers — is pretty tantalizing. And could land the Cowboys a coveted 1st round pick in a trade.

The Cowboys have Pickens on the franchise tag for approximately $27 million in 2025 and have already said they won’t negotiate a long-term contract with him until the season is over.

Don’t forget — the Cowboys are already paying 1 NFL All-Pro wide receiver big-time money with CeeDee Lamb on a 4-year, $136 million contract he signed before the 2024 season.

Cowboys Talking Mess About Ryan Flournoy

Perhaps the biggest laugh in this whole situation with Pickens is the Cowboys intimating that wide receiver Ryan Flournoy might also be ready to step up into a bigger role in the future that might somehow be equivalent to what Pickens can do.

“Ryan Flournoy, I really think is taking the next step,” Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said recently. “I think he has a chance to be a terrific receiver in this league.”

Schottenheimer’s idea of “terrific” might just be much different than most, because in no universe could Flournoy, who is very good, be anything equivalent to a WR1 or probably not even a WR2.

In 2025, Flournoy had 40 receptions for 475 yards and 4 touchdowns, including a pair of 100-yard receiving games — a massive leap after 10 receptions for 102 yards and no touchdowns as a rookie in 2024.

Pro Football Focus thought enough of Flournoy’s sophomore campaign to call him one of the NFL’s “Secret Superstar” players.

“Hiding in plain sight on a dynamic Cowboys offense, Flournoy posted an 80.3 PFF overall grade as the unit’s third-highest-graded player,” PFF’s Zach Tantillo wrote. “He brought in 40 of his 42 catchable targets and led Dallas in touchdown receptions from Weeks 9 through 18. Despite limited snaps, Flournoy ranked fourth on the Cowboys’ offense in PFF Wins Above Replacement.”