The Kansas City Chiefs are perilously thin at wide receiver, which the franchise could try to address with a blockbuster trade offer for Dallas Cowboys star George Pickens.
Pickens is unhappy that the team slapped him with the franchise tag, which pays the wideout $27.3 million in 2026, instead of inking him to a longterm contract. The Cowboys have been consistent in their position that they don’t intend to trade Pickens, but the right offer might change the minds of the notoriously mercurial Jones family that owns the franchise.
Mina Kimes and Bill Barnwell discussed the possibility of such a deal, and what it might take in terms of an asset package heading into the lauded 2027 NFL draft.
“If you’re [Chiefs GM] Brett Veach, would you consider trading a 2027 second for George Pickens?” Kimes asked Barnwell.
“I would not, because I don’t know if Patrick Mahomes is actually gonna be healthy,” Barnwell said. “And if you’re already playing with one hand behind your back for a quarter of the year, for one year of George Pickens I would not do it.”
Patrick Mahomes’ Health Might Play Role in Chiefs’ Personnel Decisions This Offseason
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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Mahomes is battling through an ACL tear that he suffered in Week 15 of last year and could return as early as Week 1. Reports coming out of Kansas City all indicate that the two-time MVP is attacking his rehabilitation maniacally and is shooting to be in the starting lineup for the season opener.
If he isn’t, 53-game starter Justin Fields will assume the role of QB1 until Mahomes is ready to return. Kansas City brought Fields in to ensure the team would be competitive to start the campaign even if Mahomes is unable to return immediately.
That concept, in some ways, runs contradictory to the logic Barnwell employed in his analysis of a potential Pickens deal when he argued it isn’t worth it if Pickens is catching passes from fields for a month, give or take.
George Pickens Likely to Command North of $30 Million Annually on Longterm Deal
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Wide receiver George Pickens of the Dallas Cowboys.
It also probably would not make sense for the Chiefs to make a deal for the Cowboys WR if Kansas City isn’t interested/willing to extend Pickens on a longterm deal.
Spotrac projects Pickens’ market value is $122.5 million over a new four-year contract. He will play next season at 25 years old.
Pickens was the Cowboys’ best wide receiver last year, putting up 93 receptions for 1,429 yards and nine scores, all of which were career highs. Dallas traded a third-round pick and a fifth-rounder to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Pickens and a sixth-rounder last offseason. Pittsburgh selected Pickens in the second round out of Georgia in 2022.
Should the Chiefs trade for Pickens and extend him, he could potentially prove the top target in the pass game for the second half of Mahomes’ career.
Given how well Pickens played in 2025, a first-round pick seems more appropriate than the second-rounder Kimes mentioned in her hypothetical offer. However, the 2027 draft is reputed to be strong across several positions, which could impact multiple possible trades over the next year.
