Falcons proclaimed best landing spot for Cowboys $122 million free agent

One of the highest priorities for the Atlanta Falcons in 2026 is adding more weapons in the passing game.

While Drake London remains under contract, the Falcons do not have much else. Kyle Pitts is a pending free agent and Darnell Mooney, who was a disappointment last season, can't be relied upon for a big role. He's also a possible cut candidate.

This is obviously a less-than ideal situation for first-year head coach Kevin Stefanski and a young quarterback in Michael Penix Jr.

Knowing Atlanta's issue, Pro Football Focus' Mason Cameron believes the Falcons are the best landing spot for Dallas Cowboys wide receiver and pending free agent George Pickens, who Spotrac projects will land a four-year, $122 million deal.

"The 2026 season will prove to be an important crossroad for Michael Penix Jr.’s development as a passer," Cameron said. "Despite leading the Power Four in deep completions his final year at Washington, Penix ranks just below the league average in percentage of attempts 20-plus yards downfield since entering the NFL. Pairing George Pickens with Drake London would create one of the NFLs most electric receiver duos and set the young quarterback up for success."

After a troubled stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers due to behavioral issues, Pickens was traded to the Cowboys last offseason, and that trade ended up panning out for Dallas, as Pickens had his best year as a pro and looked like one of the best wide receivers in the NFL.

Assuming he can keep playing at a high level and avoid issues, a pairing of Pickens and London would be an elite one-two punch, and perhaps the best in the NFL.

The problem with this scenario is the Cowboys have made it quite clear they want to keep Pickens around, and we would expect Jerry Jones to, at the very least, slap the franchise tag on Pickens to ensure he doesn't walk for nothing.

From there, the Cowboys could turn around and trade Pickens if they don't extend him and don't want to keep him on the franchise tag.

That would obviously complicate things for Atlanta and any other suitor interested in Pickens, as not only would they have to give up draft capital in a trade, they would also have to sign Pickens to a big extension.

And there is more risk in doing all that for Pickens than there would be for most receivers, as it's very possible Pickens could revert to the problem child he was with the Steelers, which could lead to a nightmare situation.

We could see the Falcons target Pickens if he's available on the open market, but if it takes a trade to acquire him, Atlanta probably won't have interest.

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