The Cowboys lost DaRon Bland, their take-it-to-the-house corner, to a foot injury last week. I can see CeeDee Lamb working on his backpedal, playing opposite Trevon Diggs and grabbing a few errant throws this season.
The Cowboys lost Sam Williams to a torn ACL early in camp at Oxnard. I can imagine Lamb with his hand on the ground out wide (real wide, probably) taking aim at the quarterback and breaking into the sack column.
Hey, for $136 million — $100 million of it guaranteed and $38 million establishing a new record bonus for a non-quarterback — can’t Lamb give the talent-short Cowboys a little extra in the coming seasons? Is 181 targets, 135 grabs and 1,749 receiving yards all we can expect from this guy?
Actually, no it is not. Lamb had 14 carries for 113 yards and a couple of touchdowns last season. Being realistic for a moment, Lamb adding to the ground game is just what Dallas needs in 2024 because in less than two weeks they’re heading to Cleveland without a rushing attack.
That’s what is going to make the Lamb contract interesting. Obviously, Cowboys fans got a big break when the deal was announced Monday. Instead of waiting until the last minute, Lamb gets two weeks to work with Dak Prescott and rekindle the fires that made Lamb the NFL’s leader in receptions last season and Dak the runner-up in Most Valuable Player voting.
Some years there are arguments to be made as to a team’s best player, and I suppose some would still hold out for linebacker-pass rusher Micah Parsons as No. 1 for Dallas. I would not go that direction. Lamb made it clear he’s the guy they cannot do without last season. If you’re thinking Dak, would you rather have the starting quarterback working with Brandin Cooks and Jalen Tolbert as his starting wideouts or would you prefer to take your chances with Lamb and Cooper Rush? Maybe even Trey Lance if he can reduce his interceptions by, say, one a quarter.
I’ll go with Lamb and whoever’s throwing.
But the problem for the Cowboys in 2024 is this: Who’s the next explosive player on offense? Tony Pollard is gone and if you think that doesn’t matter, I suspect you’re putting too much weight on how he wore down in a season in which he was coming off a broken leg. This season feels more like that 49er playoff game two years ago when Pollard, in fact, suffered that injury and Lamb found himself all alone in terms of anyone who could do real damage to San Francisco’s defense.
Cowboys management took some considerable gambles this offseason and I don’t mean just letting Pollard go to Tennessee. I don‘t recall another franchise that, in the midst of a steady run of playoff teams, got so worked up about adding two rookies to the offensive line. That’s hardly the time-honored way for upgrading an offense, and playing a guessing game with Ezekiel Elliott, Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn in the backfield isn’t either.
Lamb will earn his money by producing stats that hover around the league lead the next year or two. He’s one of five wide receivers to sign contracts averaging $30 million or more per season as that position has become a clear No. 2 in spending preference right behind quarterback. Miami’s Tyreek Hill, Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown, Philadelpha’s A.J. Brown and Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson (who maintained the highest average salary after Lamb’s signing) are the others but Miami, Detroit and Philadelphia have considerably better weapons than Dallas. That means a healthy Lamb should finish, statistically speaking, ahead of that group and the same applies in his battle with Jefferson since Minnesota has — for the moment — only retread Sam Darnold as its starting QB.
But if Lamb and, in the next year or two, Dak and Micah are all playing for contracts that place them at the top at their positions, they need better teammates. I doubt that new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer is a miracle worker. So I can’t think that the absences of — long list coming — linemen Dorance Armstrong, Dante Fowler, Johnathan Hankins and Williams, linebacker Leighton Vander Esch and cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore and Bland (for about six games) will be easily covered up. Tackle Tyron Smith, center Tyler Biadasz and Pollard all were better than what the Cowboys are calling adequate replacements. In time, young linemen might be the way to go, but it won’t mean a Great Leap Forward for 2024.
Lamb at least offers good news, a thing to celebrate for a franchise that bombed out in the playoffs and proved more penurious than ever when it came to offseason free agency. Believing in Lamb is great. He has earned the praise.
For a player so richly rewarded, is 120 carries on end-arounds and a few reps at slot corner too much to ask?
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