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CeeDee Lamb was flying down the right sideline. One thought running through his head: win the one-on-one.
That part’s the easy part for Lamb. He trusts himself against any defensive back in the league. The hard part? Actually catching the ball.
He did. During Dallas’ two-minute drill on Sunday, Lamb hauled in a deep shot from Dak Prescott. The two didn’t celebrate wildly – just a deep breath, a reset, and their handshake. They’ve been doing that same handshake for three years now.
That wasn’t the only connection between them Sunday. They hit two deep balls down that same right sideline, plus a slant route on third down that worked just as well.
Dak and CeeDee celebrate TD at Cowboys camp https://t.co/F17ubshrOe pic.twitter.com/7OA5tJd8OZ— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) August 9, 2026
“It’s demoralizing for the defense,” Lamb told Yahoo Sports, crediting the defense too for pushing the offense early in practice. “They were mad, hyped and all that. You know how defensive guys be.
“But as for us man, we just got to connect, fight through the fire and air it out.”
Airing it out comes easy when you’ve got the receivers Dallas has. Lamb’s entering year seven since the Cowboys took him 17th overall back in 2020. But something changed last season – Lamb started lining up next to George Pickens, and defenses simply didn’t have an answer. Double-teaming one guy just left the other wide open. Try to account for both, and you’re playing a different kind of chess than most defensive coordinators are used to.
Both receivers noticed the change immediately. Less double coverage. Less triple coverage. More room to work.
“As a coach, you get kind of set in this mode of like, ‘Here’s the issues you’re going to see’ [but] we’re seeing all sorts of different, weird stuff because people are having to think outside the box,” offensive coordinator Klayton Adams told Yahoo Sports. “These guys, it’s hard to leave them one-on-one.”
The numbers back it up. Dallas finished with 4,527 passing yards last year – second in the entire NFL, only behind the Rams. Pickens led the receiver room with 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns. Lamb added 1,077 yards and three scores, and that’s despite missing three games.
Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones isn’t complaining about what he got out of the pairing last year.
“I’d say the two of them did pretty damn good. Would you take that again? Hell, yeah, you would. But can they be better? I think they can. And the good news is it’s not like we’re naked without them.”
It’s not just Lamb and Pickens carrying this offense either. Tight end Jake Ferguson, breakout candidate Ryan Flournoy, and running back Javonte Williams (who cracked 1,200 yards last season) give Dallas the pieces to chase what they’re calling GOTI internally – greatest offense there is. Yeah, they made an acronym for it.
But here’s the thing nobody wants to say out loud: this whole setup might have an expiration date.
Pickens is playing this season on the franchise tag, worth $27.3 million. The two sides didn’t get a long-term deal done before the July 15 deadline, which means 2026 becomes a much bigger decision point. Combine that with the $94 million a year already committed to Prescott and Lamb combined, and you start to see why people around the league are wondering if Dallas can actually afford to keep both Lamb and Pickens past this year.
Jones doesn’t think it’s an either-or situation. He’s confident the money works out – eventually. But he was also honest that paying Pickens long-term means less flexibility elsewhere, particularly for guys like defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and whatever investment comes next at pass rush.
“Yeah, just you got to tell me the rest [of our spending], too,” Jones told Yahoo Sports on Sunday. “At some point, you’ve got to figure that out. But no, I think it’s realistic.”
Lamb’s hoping “realistic” turns into “done.” He’s already heard the chatter that he doesn’t want to share targets with Pickens, and he’s not here for it.
“I don’t have no ego here, I want to win,” Lamb said. “I don’t understand the narrative or X, Y, Z, but it is what it is.”
He’s even got a message ready for Jerry Jones, the team’s owner and general manager.
“I’m sure we can make a way. I know it’s going to be a little crazy, but I know we can make a way for this one. Listen, this is my advocation: ‘@ Jerry, can you please figure out a way? Let’s figure it out. I don’t care what needs to happen.’ ‘Let’s figure it out and it’s going to get you a couple more championships.’”
