⚡ DALLAS SHOCKER: The Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb dilemma just escalated into a full-blown crisis fans can’t ignore.QQ
Let’s talk about it.
The Dallas Cowboys have arguably the best wide receiver room in the NFL, but it’s time to have a conversation about CeeDee Lamb after his three-drop outing against the Philadelphia Eagles. Fortunately for Lamb, George Pickens picked up the slack, and Dallas stole a win.
A case can be made that Lamb is the reason the Cowboys lost to the Eagles in Week 1. He dropped three passes in that matchup as well, and each one came in a massive moment. If Dallas came up short on Sunday, Lamb would’ve been responsible for both Eagles losses.
Lamb has the look of a player who’s lacking confidence. That’s concerning on multiple fronts, but it’s fair for Cowboys fans to wonder whether his dip in form is, at least in part, tied to Pickens’ rapid and unexpected ascension as the alpha in the WR room.
Is Cowboys WR George Pickens’ ascension impacting CeeDee Lamb’s performance?
Let’s think out loud for a moment.
Lamb has been THE guy in Dallas for five seasons. Drafted in 2020, Lamb joined a receiving corps that had Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup. By the end of his second year, Lamb leapfrogged Cooper as the alpha, catching 79 passes for 1,102 yards and six touchdowns. In year three, Lamb made the jump to one of the truly elite WRs in the game en route to his first All-Pro nod. That was followed by his record-setting 2024, in which he finished third in Offensive Player of the Year voting.
While Cooper was a great receiver, Lamb took the WR1 mantle and ran with it. He was never really challenged by Cooper in that regard, even though they put up great numbers together.
It’s an entirely different story with Pickens. Lamb hasn’t gone over 100 yards receiving since the Week 7 win against the Commanders. He has since posted respective yardage totals of 74, 85, 66, and 75, with Sunday vs. Philly marking his first inefficient outing (four catches on 11 targets). In that same span, Pickens has tallied receiving yardage totals of 78, 79, 144, and 146, respectively.
It’s not like Lamb isn’t getting volume, but it’s hard not to wonder what being surpassed by Pickens in the pecking order is doing to his head. It’s easy to say from afar, but it seems that Lamb is pressing to make an impact, which can explain the drops. The drops, in turn, are what’s damaging his confidence. And it’s all snowballed into maybe the worst season of his career, given the expectations.
Let’s make one thing clear: this is not a matter of Lamb being jealous. He genuinely wants Pickens to be great and for Pickens to sign a long-term deal with Dallas.
Lamb is still a great player. There will be more games this season where he leads the Cowboys in receiving. He’s just not playing great right now, and there’s a growing sentiment among fans — because recency bias is king — that Pickens is the better player. It stands to reason that Lamb is privy to that discourse. That can’t be easy for a player who’s been THE guy from when he stepped into the league.
No. 88 is too talented not to snap out of it, but until he does, the Cowboys might be better off continuing to feed Pickens until defenses start treating him, and not Lamb, as the focal point of their game plan.
