CeeDee Lamb set to catch multiple Cowboys WR legends in 2025
CeeDee Lamb set to catch multiple Cowboys WR legends in 2025
CeeDee Lamb is poised to make 2025 a big year. His numbers were down last season after a stellar 2023, but that can be chalked up to a series of unfortunate events: the midseason loss of Dak Prescott, his own shoulder injury that he tried to play through and then lost two games to, and a lack of receiving threats around him that might have spread defenses thinner.
Now healthy, with his starting quarterback returning, and in a new-look offense with George Pickens opposite him and Brian Schottenheimer's first-year staff eager to put their stamp on things, Lamb is eyeing a return to statistical form.
He's also set to climb the charts in terms of Cowboys franchise history. Lamb is already, after just five seasons, the team's No. 7 all-time receiver in yards. And while Jason Witten and Michael Irvin's places atop the rankings are secure for several more years, the legends occupying the four spots in front of Lamb are all within his reach this season.
Here's a look at the Cowboys greats who Lamb could be catching before 2025 wraps up.
6. Bob Hayes: 7,295 yards
"The World's Fastest Human" was already an Olympic gold medalist by the time he joined the Cowboys in 1965. Over 10 seasons, the unprecedented speed he brought to the wide receiver position literally changed the way secondaries played the game, necessitating the invention of zone defense. "Bullet Bob" was the Cowboys' all-time touchdowns reception leader for over four decades and is in the team's Ring of Honor.
Lamb will overtake Hayes for the No. 6 spot on the franchise's all-time receiving list with 957 more yards. That seems like a near-lock to happen in 2025; Lamb hasn't turned in a season with less than that since his rookie year. (And even then, he logged 935.)
5. Dez Bryant: 7,459 yards
Bryant's dynamic career was cut short by injuries after leaving Dallas prior to the 2018 season, but the three-time Pro Bowler did enough over eight years as a Cowboy to land in the league's all-time Top 150 in receiving yards. He has been the franchise's career touchdown receptions leader since 2017.
Lamb will need 1,121 yards to pass Bryant for the No. 5 spot on the Cowboys' all-time list. Recent history suggests he has a good chance; he's surpassed that total in each of the last three seasons.
4. Drew Pearson: 7,822 yards
An undrafted receiver out of Tulsa, Pearson went on to earn three first-team All-Pro nods, three Pro Bowl berths, and a Super Bowl ring en route to a place in the Ring of Honor and an eventual Hall of Fame enshrinement. Though he recorded just two 1,000-yard campaigns over an 11-year career, Pearson finished with over 7,800 receiving yards.
Lamb will catch him with 1,483 yards, and he'll claim the franchise's No. 3 all-time spot with one yard more.
3. Tony Hill: 7,988 yards
He's often a forgotten man when talking about the great pass-catchers in Cowboys history, but Hill played on two Super Bowl squads, won a ring as a rookie, led the team in both catches and yards nine years in a row, and earned three trips to the Pro Bowl. Coach Tom Landry once singled him out as Dallas's "home-run hitter" and said, "I've never seen a guy who could adjust to a ball in mid-air like Tony."
He's currently third on the team's all-time receiving list, but Lamb will pass him for that slot with 1,650 more yards. That could be a tall order, even for Lamb; he has topped that mark just once, in 2023.
How many yards will Lamb post in 2025?
Barring a serious turn of events, Lamb looks to climb the ranks of the Cowboys' all-time receiving yards leaders in 2025. But it likely won't happen until later in the season.
Could he move into the No. 6 spot before the Week 10 bye? Maybe. Back in 2023, Lamb did have a nine-game run where he tallied over 1,000 yards, but that stretch included three of Lamb's best four games ever, and five of his top 15. That's the kind of effort it would take once again to pass Hayes before the bye.
Also playing a factor will be George Pickens. While his addition to the lineup will take some double-teams off Lamb and conceivably lead to more big-game opportunities for him, Pickens is another talented mouth who will need to be fed. How Brian Schottenheimer and Dak Prescott choose to distribute the ball will be huge in determining whether Lamb's numbers go up or down overall when the game plan doesn't have to run through him as the offense's only legitimate weapon.
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