The first game of the 2024 NFL season is weeks away and the Dallas Cowboys are still embroiled in all sorts of contract drama. Despite ongoing negotiations, it doesn't seem that the team will sign star quarterback Dak Prescott to an extension before he enters the final year of his deal. Of more concern is the fact that superstar wideout CeeDee Lamb hasn't showed up to training camp yet because he wants a new contract that the Cowboys are, apparently, loathe to give.
Lamb's teammates seem confident enough that he'll show up to compete in Week 1 regardless of what happens with his contract, but the longer Lamb stays away from team facilities the stronger the possibility grows that Dallas may have to start the season without his outstanding talents. Which would be a big problem in any universe but feels especially problematic for this year given Jones' constant assurances to fans that the Cowboys are "all-in" on winning a Super Bowl this year.
On Thursday, Dan Orlovsky was highly critical of how the 'Boys have conducted their offseason business and explained why their offense would be "nothing" without Lamb lining up. He did so in part by drawing a comparison to another generational talent in the DFW area, Luka Doncic.
"What would the Dallas Mavericks be without Luka Doncic?" Orlovsky asked. "They would be nothing without him. That's exactly what the Cowboys would be offensively without CeeDee. If you look at the final three months of the season, I think it's 11 games. He was getting 13 targets a game! That's 35% of their offensive snaps pass game-wise. Of course they're sabotaging themselves. They already have. The season starts in 16 days, guys. Wake up, Dallas!"
“What would the Dallas Mavericks be without Luka Doncic? … They would be nothing without him. That’s exactly what the Cowboys would be offensively without CeeDee [Lamb].”
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) August 22, 2024
😯 @danorlovsky7 pic.twitter.com/LbGdswZ9zL
The comparison with Doncic isn't quite 1-to-1 as the heliocentric nature of the Mavericks' offense is not replicable in football. But as far as how much offense Lamb accounts for compared to his teammates... it is pretty darn close!
Lamb recorded 1,749 yards in 2023, over 1,000 yards more than the second-leading receiver on the team. He recorded a whopping 64 more catches than anybody else on the Cowboys. To Orlovsky's point, Prescott targeted Lamb 181 times last season. The next-most-targeted receiver? Tight end Jake Ferguson, with 101 targets.
There is nobody who can do what Lamb does for the Cowboys on the roster, and only a few in the entire NFL. Dallas is doing itself a disservice by not doing everything possible to ensure he is happy and ready to go for the season opener. Maybe, by September 8, he'll be ready— but at this point, Lamb definitely will not be happy.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dan Orlovsky Explains How Cowboys Offense Would Be 'Nothing' Without CeeDee Lamb .
