Franchise-Tag Watch 2026: Key Candidates Across the NFL

As the 2026 franchise-tag window opens amid a rising salary cap, a short list of players are seen as tag candidates, led by George Pickens (WR, Cowboys) at about $28.82M, with Breece Hall (RB) around $14.54M; Trey Hendrickson (DE) near $34.8M; Kyle Pitts (TE) around $16.32M; and others like Odafe Oweh and Jaelan Phillips (~$28.2M), Kenneth Walker (~$14.54M), plus Colts' Daniel Jones (~$47.32M) or Alec Pierce (~$28.82M) as potential tag options; teams including the Cowboys, Jets, Bengals, Falcons, Jaguars, Chargers, Eagles, Seahawks and Colts will decide whether to tag, tag-and-trade, or push for extensions before the July 15 extension deadline.