CeeDee Lamb Expected to Have Heavy Workload in 2021
By Peter Dewey
CeeDee Lamb flashed an immense amount of potential in his first year with the Dallas Cowboys, and it appears that the second-year wide receiver could be poised for a breakout campaign in 2021.
Mike McCarthy revealed that not only will Lamb be the team’s punt returner, but he also doesn’t see himself having to put a pitch count on him.
That’s good news for Cowboys fans, as it appears Lamb will be on the field as much as possible as Dallas looks to regain the NFC East division crown.
“You like to be able to see your players do more than one thing. It’s something that we talk about a lot in player acquisition,” McCarthy said. “What are the two things he can do? Obviously, his offensive and defensive role, but what part of special teams can he contribute? And hey, you need more than one returner, too. We understand that. It’s a long season. It’s a longer season.
“I’ve gone through it before. Randall Cobb would probably be the last player that I went through it where he started out primarily as the returner and then as he grew and his numbers grew, you start looking at pitch count and things like that. I don’t see us there with CeeDee. But at the end of the day, we’ll have more than one returner.”
WynnBET currently has the Cowboys projected to win 9.5 games in 2021, although their odds to go under that total (-130) are favored to their chances of going over at +100. Still, they'll have the favorite for the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award returning to the lineup.
Even though starting quarterback Dak Prescott missed the majority of the 2020 season, Lamb still totaled 74 catches for 935 yards and five touchdowns.
Dallas tried to get the ball in Lamb’s hands a lot as a rookie, as he was targeted 111 times and also rushed the ball 10 times for 82 yards and a score. With Prescott healthy, Dallas is expected to have one of the NFL’s most high-powered offenses this coming season.
Lamb was a first-round pick for a reason, and he is clearly valuable to the team on both offense and special teams. As he continues to improve, one can expect his role in the offense alongside Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup to continue to grow.