Cowboys’ WR CeeDee Lamb has an NFL record in his sights

The Dallas Cowboys are preparing for a big Sunday Night Football matchup at home in AT&T Stadium. Coming to town is QB Baker Mayfield and the rest of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, hoping to build off of their big win in Los Angeles last week.

Dallas doesn’t have any more playoff hopes, but they can use the rest of the regular season to play spoiler, but more importantly, to give some young players time on the field versus other team’s starters. Evaluation for next season has already begun.

Nearing the end of the regular season does not only indicate a time for development and evaluation, but also is important to players who may have incentive-laden contracts. It is also a time to watch out for records that could be broken. There are so many records kept, that I am glad I am not in charge of figuring them all out.

I will, however, talk about a record that can be broken by the Dallas Cowboys own WR CeeDee Lamb. Lamb is one of the most productive wide receivers in the NFL, and losing Dak Prescott twice for the majority of the season in his first five years shows that he is quarterback proof.

The electric wide receiver now sets his sights on making NFL history for the most receptions by a player in his first five seasons. That record is currently held by former New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas at 510 receptions. Lamb needs 21 more receptions to tie the record, and 22 to stand alone at the top.

Path to Greatness

CeeDee Lamb was drafted by the Cowboys as the 17th overall pick of the first round in the 2020 NFL Draft. Lamb was a pipe dream at 17, but somehow managed to fall thanks to the ineptitude of other franchises.

Despite losing Dak Prescott for the year midway through the fifth game of the season, CeeDee finished his rookie year with 74 receptions from the arm of Andy Dalton.

His second season saw him increase his receptions to 79, playing second fiddle to Amari Cooper and even Dalton Schultz. The third season without Cooper ahead of him separated Lamb from the boys. 107 receptions later and CeeDee was voted to the Pro Bowl as well as AP 2nd-Team All-Pro.

Last year was magical. Lamb led the league in receptions and set a Cowboys record for most receptions in a season with 135. AP 1st-Team All-Pro honors were bestowed on him, and it set him up for the large contract he received.

Along with the contract, huge expectations also followed Lamb into 2024. He needed to play like the best wide receiver in the NFL after securing the bag, and I’d say he’s doing well this season. He’s not on pace for 135 receptions, but a slow year on offense coupled with Prescott being sent to Injured Reserve prove how special Lamb is.

Can He Get There?

In order to break this record, Lamb will have to average a shade over seven receptions over the course of the final three games of the season.

CeeDee Lamb is getting the job done this season from the arm of Cooper Rush. He currently leads the NFL with 144 targets, and falls in third on the receptions list (94) behind Cinicinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase and Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown. He also ranks third amongst wide receivers in YAC (yards after catch) with 494 yards.

With numbers like those, especially leading the league in targets, you can speculate that Lamb is the most likely wide receiver to haul in 22 receptions in three games. The Cowboys still have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington Commanders on schedule. Here is how they rank versus the pass:

Tampa Bay (30th)

Philadelphia (1st)

Washington (4th)

Lamb might want to get most of those 22 receptions versus the Bucs because the going gets tough versus Philadelphia and Washington. No matter, something tells me Lamb has this record in his sights.