Who Should I Start? George Pickens or Zay Flowers
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 70.1 | 0.4 |
George Pickens News
Wednesday, July 15, 4:10 PM
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens will officially play the 2026 season on his $27.3 million franchise tender after the deadline for tagged players to agree on long-term contracts passed on Wednesday, per ESPN. The Cowboys announced before the NFL draft in April that they didn't plan to engage Pickens in long-term extension talks, so this was the expected outcome. The last time Dallas signed a tagged player to an extension was receiver Dez Bryant in 2015. Pickens has signed his tender, which puts him under contract for 2026. Since reaching an extension with Bryant in 2015, quarterback Dak Prescott, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, tight end Dalton Schultz, running back Tony Pollard, and now Pickens have played on the franchise tag. Pickens, 25, was a first-time Pro Bowler and broke out for a career year in 2025 in his first year in Dallas after they acquired him in a trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers, catching 93 of 137 targets for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns in 17 games. He'll be pricey in fantasy drafts going into his second year in Dallas, and RotoBaller has him ranked as the No. 9 fantasy WR for 2026.
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13.8 | 2.8 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 68.1 | 0.3 |
Zay Flowers News
Thursday, July 16, 9:05 AM
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers is one of the league's top pass-catchers and is the top target for quarterback Lamar Jackson after two straight Pro Bowl seasons in 2024 and 2025. Clifton Brown of the team's official website writes that Flowers is a threat to break the franchise record for most receiving yards in a season, which was set by tight end Mark Andrews in 2021 with 1,361 yards. The 25-year-old former 22nd overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft out of Boston College has had back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons with nine total touchdowns in 34 regular-season games for the Ravens. There isn't much depth behind Flowers in Baltimore's passing attack, which gives Flowers a pretty safe volume floor as a low-end WR1/high-end WR2 target in fantasy football drafts, even with the Ravens implementing a new offense under head coach Jesse Minter. General manager Eric DeCosta said on 105.7 The Fan on Thursday that the team "definitely" wants to sign Flowers to a contract extension before the start of the 2026 regular season in early September. With a bounce-back season likely coming for QB Lamar Jackson if he can stay healthy, Flowers is a fine target in the early rounds of fantasy drafts, especially in PPR formats.
George Pickens vs. Zay Flowers
Still trying to decide between Pickens and Flowers? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that George Pickens is projected to score 14.3 points this week while Zay Flowers is projected to score 13.8 points.
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