He was the eleventh overall pick in the draft. As of Friday, however, Cowboys safety Caleb Downs had the top-selling jersey among all rookies.
Fanatics has announced, via Fox Sports, the ten best-selling rookie jerseys in the wake of the 2026 draft. Downs leads the way.
Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick, lands at No. 5. That’s one spot behind Steelers rookie quarterback Drew Allar, a third-round pick, who sits at No. 4.
Here’s the full top ten: (1) Downs; (2) Dolphins linebacker Jacob Rodriguez; (3) Cowboys linebacker Malachi Lawrence; (4) Allar; (5) Mendoza; (6) Dolphins cornerback Chris Johnson; (7) Cardinals running back Jeremiyah Love; (8) Patriots offensive lineman Caleb Lomu; (9) Bears safety Dillon Thieneman; (10) Jets linebacker David Bailey.
The presence of two Cowboys defensive players in the top three and two Dolphins defensive players in the top six could be a reflection of the overall optimism the fans of those teams are currently feeling. For Dallas, the offense is among the best in the league; it won’t take much defensive improvement to make the team a contender. As to the Dolphins, it’s a new era with the hiring of G.M. Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley.
It’s somewhat surprising that none of the four receivers taken in the first round made the list. And the absence of Rams quarterback Ty Simpson reflects the reality that he’ll be spending a year (or two, or maybe three) behind Matthew Stafford.
The numbers will surely change once the depth charts are determined for 2026 and, after that, the games are played. The rookies who play and play well will see a spike in jersey sales.
The unexpected decision of Cowboys receiver George Pickens to accept his franchise tender has sparked plenty of speculation. The explanation seems to be pretty simple.
From the perspective of Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer, the situation is sufficiently simple to require barely a second of thought, or discussion.
On Saturday, Schottenheimer made it clear that he sees no purpose in speaking to Pickens about his decision.
“I don’t think there’s any reason for us to have that [conversation],” Schottenheimer said Saturday, via Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News. “That’s not what we plan on doing.”
So why does Schottenheimer believe Pickens decided to commit to a one-year, $27.298 million contract with the Cowboys?
“I think because George would play this game for a dollar as much as he loves football,” Schottenheimer said. “These guys that love playing the game, they love playing the game.”
That’s a gross oversimplification of the situation. The better view is that Pickens had no other viable alternative. With the Cowboys unwilling to give Pickens a long-term deal, and with no other team willing to sign him to an offer sheet that would require two first-round picks as compensation if the proposal wasn’t matched, Pickens’s only play was to take $27.298 million (even if it’s nearly $15 million below the top of the market), have another big year, and do it again in 2027.
And while some continue to wonder whether Pickens’s next play will be to skip next month’s mandatory minicamp, we’d suggest cracking open a can of common sense. Why would he accept the tender now and then subject himself to nearly $100,000 in fines when he could have simply not accepted the tender until after the minicamp came and went?
The gesture suggests that Pickens is all in for 2026. That he’ll be there, with the goal of repeating his performance from 2025 and, in turn, putting the lingering issues from his three years in Pittsburgh deeper into the rear-view mirror.
The Cowboys are holding their rookie minicamp this weekend and they used the occasion as reason to finalize agreements with 11 undrafted free agents.
A couple of the new additions to the roster are tight ends. The Cowboys did not draft any players at the position last week.
D.J. Rogers caught 34 passes for 319 yards and two touchdowns during his final season at TCU. Michael Trigg played at USC and Ole Miss before transferring to Baylor for the last two seasons. He had 80 catches for 1,089 yards and nine touchdowns while with the Bears.
The Cowboys also signed Georgia Southern wide receiver Camden Brown, Kansas defensive tackle Tommy Dunn, Baylor tackle Sidney Fugar, Virginia Tech defensive tackle Kelvin Gilliam, SMU wide receiver Jordan Hudson, Vanderbilt linebacker Langston Patterson, Kentucky tackle Shiyazh Pete, Tulsa running back Dominic Richardson, and Kansas defensive tackle D.J. Withers.
The Cowboys announced that they have signed their top pick from this year’s draft.
They have signed safety Caleb Downs along with five other draft picks. The Cowboys traded up on spot to take Downs at No. 11 and he’s expected to move directly into the starting lineup as a rookie.
Downs was the first of two first-round selections this year. Edge rusher Malachi Lawrence was the other one and he is the only member of the draft class who has not agreed to his rookie deal yet.
The Cowboys have also signed third-round linebacker Jaishawn Barham, fourth-round tackle Drew Shelton, fourth-round cornerback Devin Moore, fourth-round edge rusher LT Overton, and seventh-round wide receiver Anthony Smith.
Cowboys receiver George Pickens has accepted the franchise tender for 2026. Why would he do it?
It’s not complicated.
Pickens could have stayed away, for all of the offseason program, all of training camp, all of the preseason. He could have waited until the days preceding the start of the regular season to show up, take the tender, and make every penny of his $27.298 million.
He also could have skipped the first 10 weeks of the regular season before showing up, making $12.13 million, and getting credit for the contract year.
He could have demanded a trade. He could have insisted on better terms than the franchise tender offered, whether it be more money or a commitment to not tag him again in 2027.
Pickens did none of those things. He took the tender. Now. He’s under contract. Now. He can still skip the mandatory minicamp, but he’ll be fined. He can skip days of training camp. Again, he’ll be fined.
He could have done that without accepting the franchise tag.
The inescapable message is this. He’s handling the situation like quarterback Dak Prescott did in 2020. Accept the circumstances, show up, work hard, and see what happens in 2027.
Given Pickens’s reputation (right or wrong) during his three years in Pittsburgh, he needs to keep putting distance between his time with the Steelers and his time with the Cowboys. He needs to have another season like the one he had last year.
Even though the franchise tag for the receiver position falls $15 million short of the new-money APY for the top of the receiver market, Pickens will make more than anyone ever would have thought he’d make before he was traded to the Cowboys last May.
And so the play is simple. Play well enough this year to put the Cowboys in a bind next year. They can sign him to a long-term deal (which possibly may require them to move on from receiver CeeDee Lamb) or tag Pickens again, at a 20-percent bump over his 2026 salary ($32.76 million).
They surely wouldn’t tag him for a third year. It would be too expensive — at least $47.17 million. So he bookends three up-and-down years in Pittsburgh with three strong seasons in Dallas, and he hits the market. He will have just turned 27. He’ll have gas in the tank and, if the next two seasons go well, more than $60 million in new earnings and a shot at the open market.
That’s why he signed the tender. That’s the best play. Given the way his career began, it’s the only play.
