George Pickens contract: Marcus Spears claims Cowboys WR should not be Jerry Jones’ top priority

For the time being, George Pickens will be the biggest name of the offseason for the Dallas Cowboys. After trading for the wide receiver last offseason, Pickens is now set to become a free agent. Jerry Jones faces a couple of options — either franchise tagging Pickens or working out a long-term extension.

But ESPN’s Marcus Spears believes there should be bigger priorities in Dallas. He says Pickens is going to get paid, no matter when the actual deal is agreed upon. Spears just sees more glaring issues for the Cowboys to shore up moving forward.

“I don’t believe so. Because I think there’s more pressing issues. I think George Pickens is a guy that’s going to get paid regardless and if you want to keep him, you’re going to have to offer No. 1 wide receiver-type money… Not from a standpoint of George Pickens not being a premium. It’s just more issues that will cause you to lose games as opposed to signing George Pickens and knowing your offense will go off.”

The ESPN analyst then provided examples. All of them came on the defensive end, unsurprisingly. Dallas produced one of the worst units in football before firing Matt Eberflus as the DC. Christian Parker will leave Philadelphia to take over the role.

Now, Spears is ready to see the roster get upgraded. Two positions stand out to him more than anything.

“There’s more pressing issues in the secondary right now for Dallas,” Spears said. “They’ve got to find another cornerback. (Trevon) Diggs left, they traded him away. They’ve got to figure out, identity-wise, on defense… They’ve got to find a linebacker in the middle of that defense as well.”

If not through free agency, the Cowboys will add players through the 2026 NFL Draft. Dallas may only own eight total draft picks as of now, but two of those are in the first round. Selections No. 12 and 20 are where everyone’s attention is at the moment. There should be an opportunity to add some defensive studs, mainly at pick 12.

Spears knows, at some point, Pickens will come into the limelight for the Cowboys to keep the elite offense together. However, he wants to make sure the defense gets back on the right track from a talent perspective. Adding the right guys could be the difference between getting back into the playoffs or missing out for a third consecutive season.