Is CeeDee Lamb ready to be Dallas Cowboys top WR? Dak Prescott says there is no doubt
When the Dallas Cowboys signed Amari Cooper to a five-year, $100 million contract in the spring of 2020 but only gave him two years of guarantees there was always a shelf life on his time with the organization.
And when the Cowboys took receiver CeeDee Lamb with the 17th pick in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft just a few weeks later and gave him the legacy No. 88 jersey, it was only a matter of time before this day would arrive.
The particulars — namely, the Cowboys’ decision to trade Cooper to the Cleveland Browns 10 days ago and rid themselves of his $20 million annual salary — don’t really matter at this point.
Lamb has officially supplanted Cooper as the team’s No. 1 receiver.
And quarterback Dak Prescott, whose first full season with Lamb in 2021 resulted in the second-year receiver leading the Cowboys in targets, catches and yards, said Monday that he is more than ready for the primary role.
“There is no doubt he is,” Prescott said. “That is part of that move. You look at guy like CeeDee and what he has done in his first two years its exciting. It’s exciting to know it’s only the beginning. He had only scratched the surface for him to be the one to be the main guy. I know he is going to be ready for it. It’s going to be exciting.”
Lamb set team rookie records with 74 catches for 935 yards and five touchdowns in 2020 in a season in which Prescott missed the final 11 games with a fractured ankle.
He recorded 79 catches, 1,102 yards and six touchdowns in 2021.
Prescott, however, did lament the loss of Cooper as well as that of Cedrick Wilson, who signed with the Miami Dolphins as a free agent.
“This is the hardest part of the league, watching teammates and friends leave,” Prescott said. “That is the business of the game, sharing words with both of those guys and knowing just how much they have impacted my career and how much they mean to me as people and players. Excited for them. Excited for their next chapter. I know they will do great things.”
The Cowboys re-signed receiver Michael Gallup to a five-year, $62.5 million contract to move up as the No. 2 receiver behind Gallup. But he is coming off ACL surgery and is not certain to be ready for the start of the season.
It’s also no secret that Gallup had an abbreviated season season in 2021 due to injuries, catching 35 passes for 442 yards and two touchdowns in nine games.
Cooper didn’t live up to his contract, accounting for only 68 catches for 865 yards, but he led the team with eight touchdown receptions. (Plus, as a player not vaccinated against COVID, Cooper missed two critical games — losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders on Thanksgiving — and that did not help his standing with management.) Wilson added 45 catches for 602 yards and six touchdowns to help fuel and offense that finished atop the NFL in yards and points.
The Cowboys signed former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver James Washington to help fill the void.
The Cowboys are expected to target a receiver in next month’s draft, which will be held outside Las Vegas from April 28-30.
“I am excited for this team, signing Michael Gallup and the new acquires whether it be Washington or what’s to come,” Prescott said. “Just excited for the things that I can control and I am going to continue to do that.”
