One of the top priorities for the Denver Broncos this offseason is acquiring more weapons for quarterback Bo Nix.
The Broncos enter the offseason with a group headlined by Courtland Sutton, and while Denver has some promising young wideouts behind him, none of them are proven.
That means the Broncos need to add a veteran, and preferably someone who is an established No. 1 or No. 2 option.
In an article making 10 “crazy” predictions for the 2026 offseason, CBS Sports’ Jordan Dajani predicts the Broncos will acquire Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens in a blockbuster offseason trade.
Dajani paints a messy contract standoff between the Cowboys and Pickens after the team utilizes the franchise tag on him, and that’s when the CBS Sports analyst believes the Broncos will “swoop in.”
Pickens will be hit with the franchise tag, as fans lament the reported lack of communication between the two camps. Pickens requests a trade as the public spectacle intensifies. That’s when the Broncos swoop in and give the Cowboys a second-round pick for the wideout, then sign Pickens to a multi-year extension that pays him an average of $31 million per year. Bo Nix needs upgraded weaponry if the Broncos want to reach that next level. Pickens is that big-play weapon Broncos fans have been praying for.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter recently reported that the expectation is the Cowboys will indeed use the franchise tag on Pickens, which makes sense for Dallas because the tag will not only afford Dallas more time to get a contract extension done if that’s the route they want to take, it will also afford the off ramp to trade Pickens.
There are multiple reasons why the Cowboys should not even consider keeping Pickens.
For starters, Pickens is a major gamble because of his past behavioral issues with the Pittsburgh Steelers that led to him getting traded.
Pickens was better behaved this past season, but he still managed to get himself benched for missing the team bus and there were questions about his effort on multiple occasions.
The Cowboys are kidding themselves if they believe Pickens is going to avoid being a problem after having a lot more money in his bank account.
Another reason the Cowboys simply can’t keep Pickens is they will have limited cap space and have a ton of needs on defense. It would be foolish to spend big money on another receiver when improving the defense is a top priority.
Of course, the aforementioned behavior concerns with Pickens would certainly apply if he lands in Denver, but the Broncos might still take the gamble.
Pickens cemented himself as a No. 1 receiver in 2025 after exploding for over 1,400 receiving yards with the Cowboys. He confirmed what we all saw over Pickens’ first three years in the NFL: he’s an elite talent.
Denver also has a positive enough cap space situation over the next few years that they can afford to give Pickens the long-term extension he’s dealing with.
Again, the Broncos will have to play the risk-reward game with Pickens if they do consider trading for him, but if he can stay out of trouble, Pickens would be just what the Broncos need.
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