CeeDee Lamb might one day be one of the NFL’s best wideouts on a pure talent basis. But while the former first-round pick has shown much progress since a 2020 rookie campaign, he can still leave a lot to be desired. A year after a 1,102-yard season in 2021, expectations were high for Lamb.
Those are expectations the young playmaker has yet to meet. With Dez Bryant watching, we saw the latest example of Lamb’s early-year struggles during the Cowboys and Giants’ (+1.5) matchup on Monday night.
Dallas was driving on a promising late second-half possession when they decided to take a shot. Cooper Rush unleashed a perfect deep shot play to Lamb downfield, with the nearest defender around the wideout five yards away.
And he dropped it:
Come on CeeDee… pic.twitter.com/SwLOND8dUA
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) September 27, 2022
Oof. That’s not a way to help an offense that scored just two touchdowns all year and is missing an injured Dak Prescott.
On the Manningcast, the Manning brothers weren’t necessarily kind to Lamb after his drop:
Peyton & Eli are not letting CeeDee Lamb off the hook for this drop 😂 pic.twitter.com/slivo3pIPm
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 27, 2022
To be fair to Lamb, part of his early struggles are undoubtedly connected to playing without his star quarterback.
But still. When a play comes your way — especially what looked like a straightforward big chunk play — you’ve got to make it.