In a lot of ways, Dallas Cowboys fans should feel fortunate that a "down" campaign for CeeDee Lamb, like the one he had during the 2025 NFL season, still nets him a spot on the Pro Bowl roster. But Dallas going 1-2-1 without its star wideout last year may have been the difference in a playoff berth.
Yes, the Cowboys' struggles in the win-loss column last fall could largely be attributed to their general defensive ineptitude. But Brian Schottenheimer's high-octane offense may have found another gear had they had a healthy Lamb alongside George Pickens, Javonte Williams and Jake Ferguson.
Sure, Lamb only missed three games, four if you count him leaving after seven snaps against the Chicago Bears. But he wasn't himself, even when he returned. An NFL coach recently acknowledged this, giving Cowboys fans even more ammo to get crazy with the hype headed into 2026.
Dallas Cowboys' CeeDee Lamb drops from No. 4 to No. 6 in NFL WR rankings
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler has been surveying executives, coaches and scouts around the league to answer a simple question: Who are the best players at each position in the NFL? Lamb, even after a tough campaign, only fell from No. 4 to No. 6, which still puts him in elite territory.
"Lamb is coming off his worst statistical season since he was a rookie in 2020. He dealt with an early-season ankle issue and never quite took off, finishing with 1,077 yards and three touchdowns. Usually an after-the-catch standout, his 322 yards after the catch were down for his standards, too. And his eight drops tied for second in the NFL behind Travis Kelce.
"Even so, the goodwill he has built over six seasons helped him in the voting. He's still a game breaker and appeared on all but one ballot.
"With his ability to separate and make big plays, the attention he demands creates opportunities for others in the offense," an NFC scout said. "He's still on the short list of guys who give you problems consistently."
CeeDee Lamb is still CeeDee Lamb; a falloff in his production does not mean that he's no longer one of the NFL's best. Even with the emergence of Pickens next to him, who came in at No. 7 on this list, and a solid run game, Lamb still mustered 75 catches for 1,077 yards and three touchdowns.
On one list, Lamb still ranked as high as No. 3. Let's ignore the fact that one person was crazy enough to leave Lamb off their top 10 ranking altogether and just recognize that having the sixth-best wideout in the league is a tremendous thing for Schottenheimer and Co., no matter how you slice it.
NFL coordinator knows Lamb wasn't himself all 2025 due to injury
Here's the kicker, though: Most people see that Lamb played in 14 games and will act like his ankle injury only kept him out of three contests. But the residual effect of that injury was Lamb's production stumbling a bit once he returned from the sidelines. He couldn't perform at the same level.
Thankfully, an NFL coordinator acknowledged this when speaking to Fowler.
"I expect him to have a bounce-back year," an NFL coordinator said. "He was never quite the same [last year] off that ankle injury."
That is what every Cowboys fan knew to be true about Lamb's 2025 campaign, and yet that fact has seemingly been lost on a lot of folks. Lazy analysts will say that Pickens overtook Lamb or that the latter lost a step. But the simple truth is that his ankle weighed him down after Week 3's injury.
The good news is that Lamb feels healthier heading into the 2026 NFL season than he has in two years, so the Cowboys may be firing on all cylinders when the live bullets start flying in the regular season.
Just imagine a Dallas offense that is orchestrated by Schottenheimer with a healthy Lamb and Dak Prescott, a paid Williams and Ferguson and a hungry Pickens looking to prove that he's worth every penny of an extension. It's beautiful, and it's not far-fetched, right?
Now, try to imagine the NFC East and the rest of the league not being terrified of that reality soon coming for the Cowboys.
You can't, can you?
Add us as a preferred source on Google