Dallas fans have not experienced an NFC Championship Game since the 1995 season.
You’d have to be 27 years old to claim to even be alive when Troy, Emmitt, and Irvin defeated Brett Favre and the Packers in Texas Stadium for the right to play in Super Bowl XXX.
The Dallas Cowboys stepped out of their comfort zone this offseason in an effort to get the team past the Divisional round of the playoffs for the first time since that season.
There wasn’t just one, but two splash moves made before the Carolina Panthers even went on the clock for the 2023 NFL Draft.
In a master class of roster management and financial negotiation from Will McClay & Co., the Cowboys sent two 5th round picks in separate deals to acquire WR Brandin Cooks and CB Stephon Gilmore.
In addition to only giving up late round draft capital, the Cowboys added a six time 1,000 yard wide receiver and a cornerback that still has All-Pro skill for a fraction of what they would cost on the open market.
The addition of those veterans to a wide receiver room and cornerback room that already feature some of the best young players in the NFL puts Dallas in a unique position.
Has any NFL team ever had a top trio on both sides of the ball? Dallas has a chance to do just that. Today, let’s examine the wide receiver room they will field in 2023.
CeeDee Lamb
Any doubts about whether CeeDee Lamb could step up into the top wide receiver role for Dallas were quickly squashed.
The doubters were out in full force when Lamb started the first two games of the 2022 season with only nine receptions for 104 yards combined, and zero touchdowns.
They were even louder in Week 3 after CeeDee had just two catches for seven yards through three quarters on Monday Night Football in the Meadowlands versus the division rival Giants.
In the 4th quarter of that same game, CeeDee had his “he is him” moment.
Lamb took over the final frame and sparked a lethargic offense to victory with six catches for 80 yards and a beautiful one-handed touchdown grab in the back of the endzone.
The Giants had no answer for him in the 4th quarter, and Cooper Rush only completed four other passes to players not named CeeDee Lamb during that stretch.
Lamb finished the season with career highs in nearly every major receiving category (107rec/1359yds/9TD) on his way to NFL All-Pro 2nd Team and Pro Bowl honors.
Entering his fourth season, and his first as a clear-cut WR1 in this league, the sky is the limit for Lamb.
And even better, the Cowboys got some much needed help to draw attention away from him.
Brandin Cooks
The Cowboys had a handful of wide receivers show flashes opposite the formation from CeeDee Lamb throughout the 2023 season.
Players like Noah Brown, Dennis Houston, and rookie tight ends Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot all made plays at some point during the season.
The problem is that none of them showed any consistency.
If consistency is what the offense needs, that’s exactly what it will get from veteran acquisition Brandin Cooks.
He has played at least 15 games in six of his nine seasons, and has hit the 1,000 yard receiving milestone in all six of those seasons.
Even in the three years where he didn’t reach that mark, his lowest receiving total was 550 yards. That was his rookie year when he only appeared in 10 games.
Cooks brings valued experience to the wide receiver room that is backed up by his production. Don’t let the fact that he has been traded four times in his career deter you.
He will tell you himself that he views it from a positive standpoint of teams wanting him as opposed to teams shipping him away.
The nine year veteran has accomplished more than all of the rest of the Cowboys’ wide receiver room combined.
In his six 1,000 yard seasons, Cooks averages a stat line of 80 receptions for 1,131 yards and 7 TDs.
For comparison, former Cowboys’ WR Amari Cooper posted a stat line of 78/1160/9 in 2022 as a member of the Cleveland Browns.
If Brandin Cooks can match his average production, he will replace what the Cowboys’ offense lost after the departure of Cooper.
For those of you wondering, that’s a good thing.
Michael Gallup
Five year veteran Michael Gallup is the third piece of the Cowboys’ wide receiver trio.
He is also the wildcard piece to determine whether or not this trio can be amongst the best in the NFL.
Gallup tore his ACL in the 2nd quarter of a 2021 Week 17 loss versus the Arizona Cardinals. He caught a touchdown on the play, but paid a heavy price.
The former Colorado State product’s absence in the playoffs was one of the main factors of the home Wildcard round loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Despite the injury, the Cowboys showed their faith in Gallup by awarding him a brand new five-year/$57 million contract after the season.
After Amari Cooper was traded prior to the 2022 season, Gallup’s return from injury was eagerly anticipated by both the team and fans alike.
His return was lackluster, however. The 2022 version of Gallup was far from the player that we last saw on the field prior to his ACL injury.
He was cleared physically by doctors to return in Week 4, but like Gallup admitted himself, there remained some mental hurdles to overcome.
Both in practice and in games Gallup did not display the same athleticism we are used to seeing from the sideline toe-tap magician.
It appeared that he didn’t trust his knee, and it affected all aspects of his game.
Recent reports from OTAs (Offseason Team Activities) say that MG13 is looking like his old self. He is looking “springy”, and not afraid to plant off of his previously injured knee.
If Lamb continues his upward trajectory, Cooks continues to just be himself, and Gallup returns to pre-injury form, the Cowboys will field the most lethal trio of wide receivers in the league.