CeeDee Lamb did not practice on Wednesday due to an ankle issue. There’s been no mention of when the injury occurred or the severity of it.
Lamb is THE alpha of the wide receiver group, as he received 156 and 181 targets in the last two seasons, converting those into 107 catches, 1,359 yards and nine touchdowns in 2022, then hauling in 135 for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns last season.
If those numbers aren’t enough for you, then I’ll show you the money, as the Cowboys signed Lamb to a four-year, $136 million deal in the offseason, making him the second-highest-paid-non-quarterback in NFL history!
Now that we’ve established that he’s pretty freaking important to the Cowboys offense, what happens if he’s unable to suit up for Week 3? Should we dare start Brandin Cooks?
Let’s take a look at the matchup first.
The Cowboys will face the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3. DK Sportsbook has the visiting Ravens favored by one point with the total at a respectable 48.5. Points will likely be scored in this one.
After playing the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders, the Ravens are allowing the fourth-highest passing success rate while the Pass EPA of 4.0 is the eighth-most generous, per Next Gen Stats. They do have the seventh-highest sack rate, but are only 27th in quarterback pressure rate. The Ravens have the seventh-lowest blitz rate and are playing zone defense at a 75.3% clip. In terms of run defense, the Ravens are allowing a Rush EPA of -8.2, the ninth-best mark.
The Cowboys offense has a Rush EPA of -1.2, but the Total passing EPA has been atrocious at -22.6, the fifth-worst mark in the NFL. The Cowboys didn’t give Dak Prescott $240 million over four years to just hand the ball off.
So far this season, CeeDee Lamb has played in 103 snaps, Brandin Cooks in 107 and Jalen Tolbert in 102. Jalen Brooks is number four at 41. The Cowboys have utilized 11 personnel 57.9% of the time. If Lamb does not play, Cooks or Tolbert would slide into the slot, as Tolbert has run from the slot 31.3% with Cooks at 29.7%. Brooks has been in the slot only 14.3% of his snaps.
Both Tolbert and Cooks have run 64 routes this season, with Tolbert garnering 17.2% target share and Cooks at 14.1%. Both receivers are averaging around 12 yards per route and the average yard per target is close to 11 for both.
So, to answer the question, is Cooks a starter with Lamb out? He is, but so is Tolbert. Both should get the majority of the passing pie.
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