Expectations are high for new Cowboys WR1 CeeDee Lamb

There are three players I’ve watched during my time at the University of Oklahoma who made me think to myself “these guys are so much better than everyone else on the field.”

Those three players are Kyler Murray, Caleb Williams and CeeDee Lamb.

Murray is in Arizona, Williams left for USC and Lamb is now the unopposed WR1 for America’s Team, the Dallas Cowboys.

Since being drafted, the expectations have been high for Lamb. Jerry Jones himself gifted Lamb the fabled 88, a symbol of honor among Cowboys wide receivers.

Here we are two years into Lamb’s career, and the man is a star in the making. He’s coming off his first 1,000-yard season and a Pro Bowl. With Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson leaving in the offseason, Lamb is about to get a lot more targets.

To me, Lamb always looked like a leaner Dez Bryant, even during his days at OU. He can burn you deep, and he can also go up and get 50/50 balls in the end zone.

QBs always play better with a bonafide WR1, and Dak Prescott is no exeption.

Before trading for Amari Cooper, the Cowboys were 3-4 in the 2018 season.

Since then, Prescott has cemented himself as a franchise QB. Prescott has better numbers pretty much everywhere with Cooper on the field. Here are some stats, courtesy of SB Nation’s Blogging The Boys writer Aidan Davis.

Without Amari Cooper:

• Win percentage: 60.9%

• Points per game: 23.3

• Passing YPG: 219.5

• TD to Int ratio: 1.3 to .6 per game

• Passer rating: 95.0

With Amari Cooper:

• Win percentage: 63.6%

• Points per game: 28.7

• Passing YPG: 297.4

• TD to Int ratio: 2 to .6 per game

• Passer rating: 103.0

Something important here: Dak didn’t have a dependant receiver before Amari Cooper was acquired. The best receiver he had was what remained of Dez Bryant. Dak’s No. 1 receiver going into 2018? Cole Beasley.

Things are looking a bit better for the Cowboys this time around.

Michael Gallup won’t be ready for the start of the season while recovering from a torn ACL, but he should be back at some point this year to be Robin to Lamb’s Batman.

Then there’s Dalton Schultz. The big tight end finally had the breakout year the Cowboys were waiting for and is expected to have another big season. Dallas used their franchise tag on Schultz to keep Prescott’s over the middle weapon in Dallas

Lamb will have a lot on his plate. Not only are expectations yet again high in Dallas, but this could be Mike McCarthy’s final year to get some results. Not having Michael Gallup to take some attention away from Lamb will also make things difficult to start the year.

I do believe in Lamb. If he can keep the drops under control, he’s in for a big season.

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