The wide receivers that came out in the 2020 NFL Draft were deep from Jerry Jeudy, Justin Jefferson, and Ceedee Lamb. Jefferson has been nothing short of phenomenal in his first two seasons breaking record after record. Jeudy has struggled to find his place in Denver, but that could be the product of horrible QB play, and now with Russell Wilson, he could break out. Lamb however, has had a fine first two seasons in 2020; he had 74 catches, 935 yards, and 5 touchdowns. In 2021 he improved by putting up 79 catches, 1,102 yards, and 6 touchdowns. Now, with the departure of Amari Cooper, Lamb is the unquestioned number one wideout in Dallas. I’m here to give you reasons why I expect Lamb to have a monster season in 2022.
Lamb Is A Generational Talent After The Catch
Ceedee Lamb has always been amazing after the catch, it’s my favorite part of his game. Lamb has a combination of power and speed; he runs good routes and is very explosive. Lamb had 423 yards after the catch last season, which ranked 13th in the NFC, but I’m hoping that Lamb can improve on that in 2022. He is extremely elusive and just natural. Sometimes, it just looks like he’s gliding on the field.
Increased Targets
Lamb had 120 targets last season that’s 20% of the offensive targets. I expect Lamb to increase that percentage from 25-30%. Zeke Elliot has been on the decline the last few years, and Dallas has become more of a passing team and now with Cooper gone, Lamb should be the focal point of the offense. Also, Lamb only had four targets inside the 10-yard line in all of 2021. Here’s to hoping that number will increase this season.
Better Scheming
Kellen Moore must do a better job scheming for Lamb. In Lamb’s first eight games he had 22.6% of the target share, 23.6% targets per
route, 8.3 targets per game, 15.4 yards per catch, 79.6% of his snaps lined up out wide. Dallas went 6-2 in those eight games. In his last ten games, including the playoffs, Lamb received 15.2% of the target share, 19.7% targets per route run, 6.6 targets per game, 12.6 yards per catch, and only 39% of his snaps lined out wide. Dallas finished 6-4 in that stretch, and in Dallas’ lone playoff game, Lamb had one catch for 21 yards on five targets.
When brought up with guys like Jefferson, Jeudy, Terry McLaurin, AJ Brown, and others Ceedee is not normally the one picked at the top understandably so with Justin Jefferson, but I will feel as though Lamb is better than the rest. Ceedee Lamb is up for a huge season and fans of America’s Team should be excited for their young Wide Receivers to enter the league’s elite in 2022.
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