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As we near the top of our list of the top 10 Dallas Cowboys of 2026, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb comes in at No. 2.
Lamb was a first-round pick of the Cowboys in 2020, and while the pick was controversial at the time because Dallas needed to address its defense instead, the pick has paid off for Dallas.
Lamb has become one of the better wide receivers in the NFL over his six years in the league and has broken the 1,000-yard mark in each of the past five campaigns, including in 2023, a season that saw Lamb finish first in catches and second in receiving yards.
He also has five Pro Bowl nods and a trio of All-Pro selections, with one of them being a first-team nod.
The Oklahoma product has owned the role of the Cowboys' No. 1 wide receiver since 2021, and that should be no different in 2026.
CeeDee Lamb's 2025 season
2025 stats: 75 receptions, 1,077 yards, 3 TDs (14 games)
Lamb battled through injury in 2025, missing three games and exiting two others early. He was also pulled early from Week 18, when the Cowboys decided not to risk it with their best players during what was a meaningless game.
Despite his injury issues, Lamb still managed to post 1,077 yards, and if you take his per-game average, which was also impacted by his early exits, he would have tallied over 1,300 in 17 games.
Taking it a step further, if you take Lamb's yards per game average (89.4) from the 12 games in which he appeared in three or more quarters, he would have finished with over 1,500.
Lamb ranked near the top of the league in receiving yards on deep targets with 454. Deep targets are defined as targets of 20-plus air yards, which means Lamb was one of the NFL's best deep threats.
The Cowboys star fell behind only the Seattle Seahawks' Jaxon Smith-Njigba (542) and Lamb was the only player in the top five to play in less than 15 games.
CeeDee Lamb's 2026 outlook
2026 projection: 110 catches, 1,417 yards, 10 TDs
Because George Pickens had a more productive campaign (1,429 yards) in 2025, there has been some debate about whether or not he is now the new No. 1 in Dallas.
However, it's fair to assume that Pickens would have fallen short of Lamb had the former first-round pick played a full season. It's also worth mentioning that two of Pickens' best games came when Lamb was ruled out due to injury.
Before we can officially pass the mantle as Dak Prescott's No. 1 target from Lamb to Pickens, we've got to see the latter do it again, and do it with Lamb playing a full season.
When it comes to Lamb's health, he's feeling good ahead of his seventh season in the NFL. In fact, he told former ESPN analyst Ryan Clark that he hasn't "felt this good or this healthy in two years."
That is definitely a positive development for the Cowboys wideout and there is no reason to believe he won't be among the NFL's most productive players at his position in 2026.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/cowboys/onsi as Top 10 Dallas Cowboys of 2026: CeeDee Lamb Poised for Bounce-Back Season.
