Coming into the 2020 season, everyone knew just how good the Cowboys receivers were going to be. However, did anyone expect them to play on this level?
Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb have all been exceptional this year. Do the Cowboys have the best receiving trio? Let’s take a look at these three receivers and their stats so far in the 2020 season.
Amari Cooper
Before his week five game against the New York Giants, Amari Cooper had arguably the best four-game span of his career.
He had 37 catches on 51 targets for 401 yards and a touchdown.
Cooper declared to be Dak Prescott‘s favorite target. Although Cooper had a dud in week 5, only catching two passes on four targets for 23 yards, he still ranks top ten in the majority of wide receiver categories.
He ranks second in receptions (39), second in targets (55), seventh in receiving yards (424), seventh in yards per game (84.8) and fourth in first downs (23).
With Prescott out for the season, Cooper’s receptions/targets might dwindle down, but his talent can’t go unnoticed.
He has made the pro bowl in four out of five seasons to start his career.
Michael Gallup
Unfortunately for Gallup, he gets overlooked so many times in the Cowboys offense.
The former third-round product from Colorado State is coming off his best NFL season yet. Last season he finished with 66 catches for 1107 yards and six touchdowns.
Now fast forward to this season and the ball just isn’t being thrown his way. Through five games, Gallup only has 17 catches on just 28 targets, which both ranks fifth on the Cowboys.
Last season through the first five games, Gallup had 27 catches on 40 targets.
It’s nothing against Gallup at all. There are just so many talented weapons on the Cowboys that the ball gets spread around.
Even though he only has 17 receptions which rank 64th in the NFL, his 348 yards do rank 20th in the NFL.
As a result of his low to high receptions to yards ratio, he ranks second in the NFL in yards per catch (20.5). Gallup also ranks 9th in the NFL in big plays (6).
With Dalton under center, early on it seems like Gallup is his favorite receiver. On the last drive, they connected twice for a 19-yard and 38-yard completion to set up the game-winning field goal.
Gallup will look to stay an important vertical receiver for the Dallas Cowboys.
CeeDee Lamb
How did CeeDee Lamb fall to the Cowboys at pick 17?
Lamb is off to an astonishing start to his NFL career. He leads all rookie receivers in multiple categories to start the season.
He leads all rookie receivers in targets, receiving yards, big plays, first downs and yards per game.
Through week 5, Lamb ranks 13th in targets (40), 13th in receptions (29), sixth in receiving yards (433), second in big plays (9), sixth in yards per game (86.6) and 11th in first downs (20).
The two receivers that were taken before Lamb, Henry Ruggs and Jerry Jeudy have battled injuries and haven’t lived up to expectations yet.
Although it is very early in their careers, Lamb seems like the most dynamic out of the group.
As a rookie, Lamb is breaking out as an important asset to the Cowboys. His route running and hands have been crisp so far.
Lamb has 29 catches for 433 yards and two touchdowns so far on the season.
He will look to break the rookie NFL receiving yards record which is held by Bill Groman. Groman had 1,473 receiving yards in his rookie season with the Houston Oilers in 1960.
Lamb is currently on pace for 1,385 yards.
Are they the Best Trio?
The short answer to this question is yes. To kick off the 2020 season, each of the three Cowboys receivers has over 300 receiving yards.
They are the only team in the NFL to have three players reach that mark so far in 2020
Lamb and Cooper are both former first-round picks and have shown their talent all throughout college as well as in their NFL careers so far.
Cooper, Gallup and Lamb are all on pace to reach over 1000 yards for the season. The Cowboys will look to become just the sixth team in NFL history to have three receivers reach 1000 yards in the same season.
The last time was 2008 when the Arizona Cardinals had Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston all reach the mark.
The big question remains on how Dalton will manage to spread the ball around this offense.
Featured Image Courtesy of Inside the Star
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