Experts consider if Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb will be a top-10 receiver in 2022

The Dallas Cowboys have placed the burden of high expectation time and again on wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. It started when he was selected by Will McClay and company with the No. 17 pick in the 2020 NFL draft. It continued when he was bestowed the hallowed 88 worn by Drew Pearson, Michael Irvin and Dez Bryant before him. Most recently, the team pushed all of their chips into the middle when they released Amari Cooper.

Heading into 2022, the hope is he takes the next step into superstardom.  He’s racked up over 2000 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first two seasons, the first of which without the added benefit of quarterback Dak Prescott for the majority of the year. Yet given his extraordinary pedigree and training camp performance, he’s still fell short of the ceiling most thought he’d hit in a hurry. The opinion of him remains high around the league and with Pro Football Focus and the Around the NFL podcast ranking wide receivers, it’s time to see where he lands.

Pro Football Focus ranks Lamb as the No. 12 receiver in the league.

Lamb was pigeonholed to the slot as a rookie in 2020 but was given an outside job in 2021, where he showcased his best play. Lined up out wide last season, the former Oklahoma Sooner was the sixth-highest-graded receiver in the NFL.

Lamb needs to get better with defeating press coverage, but he ate when given a free release. The 6-foot-2, 191-pound receiver also attacks the catch point well and is strong after the catch. He ranked top-five at the position in both contested catch rate (70% — 14-of-20) and broken tackles after the catch (19) in 2021.

The Around the NFL podcast performed a fantasy draft of the best pass catchers in the game. The three-way draft ended up with Lamb going at No. 10, though there were some wrinkles where the selectors had to follow some added caveats for the sake of entertainment. Host Dan Hanzus had the following to say about the Prescott’s primary target:

One thing I like about Lamb is how he’s versatile…Lamb is a guy who can play inside or outside, he’s done a lot of it. He’s been a dominating player. Last year wasn’t as maybe impressive as his first year was in some ways. But I think the best of CeeDee Lamb is yet to come. I think he’s a superstar.

The critique of Lamb’s second season is fair. When the Dallas offense was rolling early in the year he was on pace for a monster campaign. Through the first seven games he was on pace for 95 catches, nearly 1500 yards and 10 touchdowns. It was that game against the Minnesota Vikings where he suffered a concussion that may have altered the remainder of the season. His pace over the second half was fine, but not what a player of Lamb’s caliber is truly capable of, catching 40 passes for 493 yards and just two touchdowns.

If the Cowboys are going to repeat their performance as one of the most dynamic offenses in football, they’ll need Lamb to be a consistent top-tier wideout who performs week in and week out like the threat he’s capable of being. The depth chart behind him is underwhelming and so the load he’ll have to carry is heavy.

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