CeeDee Lamb is entering his fourth year in the NFL and his second as the number-one wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys. CeeDee Lamb’s fantasy football outlook is as high as it’s ever been. Lamb is eligible for his second contract, his agent and the Cowboys are currently negotiating that. Another big fantasy season will go a long way to Lamb receiving his big payday. That being said, let’s take a look at CeeDee Lamb’s fantasy football outlook for the 2023 season.
CeeDee Lamb 2023 Fantasy Football Outlook
CeeDee Lamb 2022 Season Recap
Lamb finished the 2022 season as the WR5 averaging almost 18 PPR points per game. 107 receptions, 1,359 receiving yards, and nine touchdowns landed him in the top six of every major receiving category. 156 targets in 2022 was also a number that only three wide receivers topped during 2022. Lamb finally broke out in 2022.
NEW #ReceptionPerception profile: CeeDee Lamb joined the superstar tier in Year 3.
– 75.6% success rate vs. man coverage
– 80.5% vs zone
– 78.4% vs press
– Continued mastery of all three WR positionshttps://t.co/ftsxc50BCv pic.twitter.com/ZeGBhZ87Ux— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) June 7, 2023
His quarterback, Dak Prescott missed five games in 2022 due to a finger injury. Backup quarterback Cooper Rush filled in well going 4-1 during that stretch. But Lamb’s fantasy production was significantly impacted by Prescott’s injury. Week’s 2-6 without Prescott, Lamb averaged 76 yards per game and was WR9 during that stretch. From weeks 7-18 with Prescott, Lamb averaged 86 yards per game and was WR3.
#Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb averaged 8.9 targets per game with Dak Prescott from Weeks 7-17.
Lamb averaged over 10 yards per target and 13 yards per reception.
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) May 30, 2023
Lamb averaged more targets per game with Cooper Rush but was more efficient with those targets with Dak Prescott. Despite Lamb finishing as a top-five fantasy receiver, he was just 12th in red zone targets. That means he has room to grow and positive touchdown regression is on his side. Only 14% of his fantasy points came in the red zone, which means there was nothing fluky about his 2022 season.
CeeDee Lamb 2023 Season Preview
New Contract on the Horizon
CeeDee Lamb is entering the 2023 season looking for his first big payday, it remains to be seen when that will get done. Though, Lamb is set on not letting it become a distraction.
Lamb enters this year again expecting to put up big numbers on a Dallas Cowboys offense that was up and down in 2022. Injuries and a lack of offensive weapons led to that. After cutting Amari Cooper the Cowboys didn’t do enough to address the receiver position. Michael Gallup struggled to bounce back after his ACL injury. While rookie Jalen Tolbert had big expectations but hit the rookie wall in training camp. To fix that the Cowboys traded for wide receiver Brandin Cooks who will step into the number two receiver role.
Brandin Cooks’ play speed is turning heads at first Cowboys’ minicamp: ‘It’s beautiful’ https://t.co/3JcHrMbEQe
— David Moore (@DavidMooreDMN) June 7, 2023
New Play-Caller and Touches Available
They had some key losses with Dalton Schultz and Ezekiel Elliott both leaving the team. They also lost offensive coordinator Kellen Moore after he was fired. Head Coach Mike McCarthy will take over as the play caller for the first time since his last season in Green Bay. McCarthy’s time in Green Bay is the most ideal projection we can use. During McCarthy’s time as a play caller, the number one receiver for the Packers averaged over 8 targets per game with a 23% target share.
#Cowboys offensive play-caller: HC Mike McCarthy pic.twitter.com/TEzRMmPrC8
— Sam Hoppen (@SamHoppen) June 7, 2023
CeeDee Lamb is hoping for much more with some of the losses on offense. The Cowboys are losing 196 targets between Dalton Schultz, Ezekiel Elliott, Noah Brown, and T.Y. Hilton. Cooks will certainly take some of those but with the losses at the tight end, Lamb should see an increase in targets in 2023. The tight end position has a 20% target share and averages 113 targets per season since Prescott took over in 2016. The current Cowboys tight end depth chart is young and unproven, it remains to be seen if the target distribution dictates that.
The Cowboys tight end room has a ton of intrigue. Here's a player-by-player breakdown following the NFL Draft and what the depth chart pecking order might look like.
(Via @AliJawad024)https://t.co/NMLQVVB3pL
— The Landry Hat (@LandryHat) May 15, 2023
The loss of Ezekiel Elliott could also mean more passing attempts in 2023. Elliott led the Cowboys with 231 carries including 39 red zone carries. Tony Pollard is a great running back but he isn’t used to that workload so that’s not something you should expect this season. More passing attempts are a good thing for Lamb and the Cowboy’s offense.
Current ADP
CeeDee Lamb is going at WR6 at the beginning of the second round at this point in time. Some receivers going ahead of Lamb include Tyreek Hill and Stefon Diggs. Lamb is arguably a first-round pick and ahead of Stefon Diggs. Getting him anywhere in the second round is a steal that every fantasy manager should be happy about. Lamb’s ceiling is WR1 in 2023 between the talent and the target opportunity. ADP according to FantasyPros.
Main Photo Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
