FRISCO, Texas — CeeDee Lamb was asked to evaluate his season after eight games as the No. 1 wide receiver for the Cowboys on Thursday.
The numbers don’t always tell the story, as Lamb’s coach Mike McCarthy reminded reporters when asked his own assessments of the group.
Yet, Lamb was honest about his play which is also part of the reason why this franchise is interested in Odell Beckham Jr.
“Pretty kinda, level if you, well an even scale,” Lamb said. “A little bit of ups and a little bit of downs. That’s how the games go. Yeah I could have impacted the game a lot more just off the missed opportunities that I had myself. Just taking advantage of every opportunity that I get. For example, every target I get, or every opportunity I get to break a big run, (like) the running backs. So kinda stepping up my game as we go along, finishing up this stretch run of the regular season.”
If you’re still wondering why Beckham remains a topic of conversation, just check out the Cowboys’ lead receiver. Lamb was given the gig when the Cowboys traded Amari Cooper to Cleveland in the offseason. Lamb is ranked 25th in catches (42) and 17th in yards (556) in the NFL. But what’s alarming about Lamb’s game is a career-low 57.5% catch rate.
In comparison, Tyreek Hill, the NFL leader in catches (76), has caught 76% of his passes. Cooper Kupp, second in the league in catches (72), caught 77.4% while Stefon Diggs (third at 60 catches) is at 72%.
Cooper, meanwhile, has caught 59.1% of his passes.
Now this isn’t to say Lamb needs to get replaced, if anything he continues to be a dangerous threat in the Cowboys’ offense.
However, the addition of Beckham brings so much to the Cowboys.
If they get him.
“We all going to compete like we all No. 1s anyway,” fellow receiver Michael Gallup said. “If we did get Odell he’s only going to help us. We’re going to compete for a spot for one and two he’s going to be a Hall of Famer so I’m going to be able to learn from a Hall of Famer. We all are. So it’s the same thing like we had Coop in the building. They’re great wide receivers, great people. It’s only a plus.”
Lamb doesn’t believe the addition of Beckham is an indictment of the wide receiver corps.
“That’s my boy,” Lamb said. “I’m a fan of Odell for sure. I feel like here why you wouldn’t want to add more firepower to this offense?”
This offense enters the Packers game on Sunday coming off its best performance of the season. In the first eight weeks, the Cowboys offense has been reliant on the running game and at times needed the tight ends to get things going.
In the last two weeks, the Cowboys dressed four tight ends on game days. Against the Bears, Dallas had the same number of tight ends active as wide receivers (four).
This is more about the value of some of the tight ends ability to play special teams, but also a slight against the receiving group. Outside of Lamb and Gallup, KaVontae Turpin is more of a returner than a receiver and rookie receiver Jalen Tolbert is continuing to learn the game.
Noah Brown, after a fast start to the season, missed the Bears game with a foot injury and could return this Sunday.
Of course, the Cowboys’ haven’t held the ball with a frequency in comparison to last season thanks to a strong running attack and the defense taking care of its own business against opponents.
Last season, Dallas ran 488 total plays offensively compared to 474 this year after eight games. Dallas’ time of possession is also down following eight games at 27:36 from 32:11 last year.
Those offensive numbers being down is another result of not having quarterback Dak Prescott for five games while he recovered from a fractured right thumb.
Last year, Cowboys’ receivers had 12 touchdown receptions after eight games. This season, just five.
“You just got to look inside that and make sure you’re highlighting the right things we need to do,” McCarthy said on the statistics. “We’ve been more efficient the last couple of weeks and we want to build off that.”
At some point, Beckham will make a decision for his next stop. The Cowboys are expected to embrace him because of what he brings: Deep threat, a reliable receiver who will catch the ball and an overall playmaker.
There is nothing wrong with adding playmakers if you can afford them, which is the big question around The Star when it pertains to Beckham.
“Anytime you have a chance to add a talent like that and knowing Odell and knowing his resume, it’s exciting,” Prescott said. “But also understand it’s a business and I’m sure there’s 31 other teams that would like to add him as well.”
