Breaking Down the Top NFL Franchise Tag Candidates in 2026

Two of the NFL's teams are still living in the now. But for franchises that aren't the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, attention has already turned to the 2026 offseason. And one of the first orders of business is deciding whether or not to apply the franchise tag to a pending free agent.

The upside of using the tag is simple—if another team signs that player to a contract, it can be matched. If, for whatever reason, a club chooses not to match, they receive two first-rounders as compensation.

No team is going to give up two firsts and a massive payday—and that's the non-exclusive tag. The exclusive tag is just that—no other franchise can negotiate with that player.

The downside is that not only does the team have to fork over the big bucks (as much as an estimated $46 million for quarterbacks in 2026), but every dollar hits that team's cap at once. Given that, as often as not, the tag is used to buy time to negotiate a more cap-friendly long-term deal.

It's a tough call for NFL teams—in 2025, only two players (Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins and Kansas City Chiefs guard Trey Smith) were tagged. It often rubs players (and their agents) the wrong way.

But there are still several big-name pending free agents who are candidates to receive the franchise tag ahead of the March 3 deadline.

WR George Pickens, Dallas Cowboys

AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.

Might as well start with the most obvious potential franchise tag candidate.

The Dallas Cowboys may have had a disappointing season, but wide receiver George Pickens most assuredly did not. In his first season with the team, Pickens shattered career bests across the board—93 receptions, 1,429 yards, and nine scores.

Now, the four-year veteran is set to hit free agency for the first time, and Dallas COO Stephen Jones told reporters that the Cowboys would very much like to keep Pickens in Big D in the long-term.

"We won't get into any details right now," Jones said. "Certainly, we want George to be back here in Dallas, and we'll certainly go from there."

However, inking Pickens to a massive long-term deal isn't necessarily a slam-dunk. The Cowboys are already paying CeeDee Lamb $34 million a season. Pickens' three seasons with the Steelers featured no shortage of highs and lows. And Dallas is perennially in salary cap purgatory—the team currently sits almost $40 million over the projected salary cap.

Those cap issues make using the tag difficult. But depending on what sort of deal Pickens is looking for, a projected tag of $28 million and change may become a more appealing option than another long-term deal for a receiver averaging well over $30 million a season.

RB Travis Etienne Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars

AP Photo/John Raoux

A year ago at this time, many questioned whether Travis Etienne Jr. would even be the Jacksonville Jaguars' starting running back in 2025.

What a difference a year makes.

After a disappointing 2024 campaign, Etienne rebounded in a big way last year in Liam Coen's first year as head coach—the 27-year-old rushed for just over 1,100 yards and a career-high seven touchdowns and caught 36 passes for 292 yards and six more scores. It was the third time in four NFL seasons that Etienne surpassed 1,000 yards on the ground.

While speaking to reporters, Etienne said he'd be interested in continuing his career in Duval County.

"When I got drafted here, I wanted to be one of the best running backs to ever put on a jersey," he said. "I wanted to be remembered like the guys, Fred Taylor, Maurice Jones-Drew. You want to set that standard. You want to leave a legacy."

$14 million and change is a lot to pay a running back for one season, and the Jaguars drafted Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen Jr. in 2025. But those youngsters didn't make much of an impact as rookies, and the Jaguars enter the 2026 season in a position they didn't expect—as contenders in the AFC.

So, there may be more impetus to keep the band together than we expected a year ago.

EDGE Jaelan Phillips, Philadelphia Eagles

AP Photo/Chris Szagola

The Philadelphia Eagles brought in edge-rusher Jaelan Phillips in a mid-season deal with the Miami Dolphins last year. And while the 26-year-old had just two sacks in eight games for his new team, Phillips was excellent against the run and should be one of the most coveted free agents at a premium position this spring.

While addressing the media, Phillips allowed that he's not sure what the future holds. But he also said that he enjoyed his time in Philadelphia and would be amenable to returning.

"It's my first experience with it (free agency) so I'm not really sure how it plays out," Phillips said. "But we'll see. We'll see what happens. Obviously, I've got a family now and a kid on the way and sort of think about that. But, also, you know I want to be on a competitive team and part of an environment where I love the guys I'm around and love the organization I'm playing for. I feel that here. So, we'll see."

Phillips is entering the prime of his career and has no shortage of potential. But he also has a fairly extensive injury history—one that makes signing the five-year veteran to a long-term deal something of a risky proposition.

The projected franchise tag for defensive ends isn't cheap--$26.6 million. The Eagles are also short on cap space, with $10.4 million in wiggle room.

But Philly also doesn't have much depth on the edge, and losing Phillips would be a major blow, so the tag could be a possibility.

WR Jauan Jennings, San Francisco 49ers

AP Photo/Terrance Williams

To be clear, the San Francisco 49ers don't necessarily want to pay wide receiver Jauan Jennings $28 million in 2026. The Niners are presently about $23 million under the projected salary cap, and that's a lot of scratch for a wide receiver who has never had 1,000 receiving yards in a season.

But the 49ers are also in a position where they can't really afford to let Jennings leave. Brandon Aiyuk's time with the team is most assuredly over after he missed the entire 2025 season, and the team voided the guarantees in his contract. Tight end George Kittle ruptured his Achilles tendon in the playoffs and will likely miss a big chunk of next season. Ricky Pearsall missed almost half of the 2025 season and has never had 550 receiving yards in a campaign. If Jennings leaves, the cupboard in Santa Clara is going to be bare.

For his part, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy told reporters that he'd like to see Jennings return.

"I'm extremely hopeful," Purdy said. "He's my guy, and I love playing with him and everything we've been through. He's a war daddy that every time you step onto the field, you know you're going to get his best and get everything from J.J. Obviously, I want him back."

For a franchise with Super Bowl aspirations, a complete teardown of the pass-catchers would be a tough pill to swallow. That gives Jennings leverage—and could bring the franchise tag into play.

EDGE Odafe Oweh, Los Angeles Chargers

AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

ESPN's Matt Bowen recently released a list of the top 50 free agents available in 2026—a list where Los Angeles Chargers edge-rusher Odafe Oweh cracked the top-10.

"An explosive pass rusher who gets off the ball in a hurry, Oweh can also flatten his path to maneuver around offensive tackles," Bowen wrote. "After getting traded from the Ravens on Oct. 7, Oweh had 7.5 sacks and 27 pressures in Los Angeles. Plus, he recorded three sacks in the team's wild-card loss to the Patriots."

Oweh's big second-half and postseason outburst position the 27-year-old as one of the best pass-rushers set to hit the open market. And it wasn't a fluke run, either—the 31st overall pick in 2021 tallied 10 sacks for the Ravens back in 2024.

But frankly, it makes sense for the Chargers to do whatever it takes to keep Oweh from ever reaching the open market. Cap space isn't an issue for the Bolts—only two teams have more cap space than L.A.'s $80.6 million. An issue in Los Angeles is depth at the edge opposite Tuli Tuipulotu—Khalil Mack is a 34-year-old pending free agent coming off an injury-plagued season.

The Chargers will likely look to lock up Oweh long-term, but if the player and team can't agree on terms, it makes a ton of sense for the Bolts to use the franchise tag to keep Oweh in Southern California.

TE Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons

AP Photo/Danny Karnik

Not that long ago, it appeared that Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts would be a goner this year. But after three straight disappointing seasons, the fourth overall pick in 2021 rebounded with career highs in receptions (88) and touchdowns (five) on the way to second-team All-Pro honors.

Now, there's a new head coach in Atlanta in Kevin Stefanski—a coach who has been known to involve the tight end heavily in the offense. On Draymond Green's podcast, Pitts said he's intrigued by the idea of playing for the two-time Coach of the Year.

"That'd be dope in general as a room and just like for morale as an offensive piece--the tight end being one of the focal points in it," Pitts said. "Not saying it wasn't before, but it being like a higher, more-enhanced role. So that would be the cool part and, you know, to see what he's done in the past is great. Talking to David [Njoku]--nothing but great things to say and I think that would be pretty cool."

Pitts isn't the only pending free agent of note in Atlanta—"green dot" linebacker Kaden Elliss is also headed toward the open market. And with just $17.4 million in cap space, the team has some financial wrangling to do.

But the franchise tag number for tight ends is just $15.9 million. Only running back is less expensive, and that would slot Pitts fifth in the league at his position in terms of average salary.

That's not an unreasonable number if the Falcons can't reach a deal with Pitts or are reluctant to commit a similar amount per season to a long-term deal.