The buzz around ESPN’s annual Top 10 position rankings is created by kind of a genius formula — a day-by-day roll out as we approach the start of NFL training camps for all 32 teams.
When the Top 10 wide receivers came out on July 15, there was one slight that can’t be overlooked, which is putting Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb at No. 4 behind Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill at No. 3 after Hill finished 30th in the NFL in receiving yards in 2024.
Lamb, despite missing 2 games due to injury, finished eighth in the NFL with 101 receptions for 1,194 yards and 6 touchdowns. Hill had 81 receptions for 959 yards and 6 touchdowns in 17 games.
What more evidence do they need to put Lamb ahead of Hill? The lists are put together by ESPN but voted on by NFL personnel and executives, which means there’s probably some inherent bias. In that case, don’t expect the Cowboys to get much love.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver and 2024 Triple Crown winner Ja’Marr Chase was No. 1 on the list.
Even more impressive for Lamb? He did what he did in 2024 despite not having Prescott for the last 9 games because of a hamstring injury and not having an even passable WR2 options.
Through his first 5 seasons, Lamb is a 3-time NFL All-Pro and 3-time Pro Bowler with 4 consecutive seasons of over 1,100 receiving yards and 38 receiving touchdowns.
Lamb also signed a 4-year, $136 million contract extension in August 2024
“Lamb has checked many boxes required by an elite receiver,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote. “He had a banner season in 2023, with 135 receptions (league-high), 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns. He has had no true down years. He’s a perennial All-Pro first- or second-teamer. And he can produce through adversity, including multiple injuries to Dak Prescott and a bad running game … Lamb has 496 career receptions, the second most through a player’s first five seasons behind Michael Thomas‘ 510. His 12 career games with at least 10 receptions are already the most in Cowboys history.”
Lamb Finally Gets Some Help at WR in 2025
For all the pouting we may have just done about Lamb’s spot on the list, there was a surprise addition among the “others receiving votes” — a surprise that speaks to the Cowboys’ new look offense.
Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens received votes on the list despite a tumultuous 2024 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers that saw him traded to the Cowboys in the offseason. In 2025, he’ll be in a “Prove It” year that could land him WR1 money if he plays up to his full potential.
With Prescott healthy, the idea of Lamb and Pickens together running routes might make the Cowboys mandatory viewing this season.
“George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb on the field at the same time is a nightmare (for defenses),” ESPN’s Mina Kimes said on a recent episode of The Mina Kimes Show.
Pickens, a second round pick (No. 52 overall) in the 2022 NFL draft, has 174 receptions for 2,841 receiving yards and 13 total touchdowns through his first 3 seasons, including career highs of 63 receptions, 1,140 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2023.
In 2024, Pickens had 59 receptions for 900 yards and 3 touchdowns despite missing 3 games due to a hamstring injury. He was also in head coach Mike Tomlin’s doghouse for most of the season, including when he showed up late to a Christmas Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
