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On an episode of “Football 301<\/a>,” Yahoo Sports’ Matt Harmon, Nate Tice and Charles McDonald broke down the ripple effects of the move. Here\u2019s a look at how this trade could impact Lamb this season and beyond.<\/p>\n CeeDee Lamb could be more effective in 2025 now that he has help in the wide receiver room. (AP Photo\/Michael Ainsworth)<\/p>\n (ASSOCIATED PRESS)Lamb remains WR1 \u2014 with a true X beside him<\/p>\n The first point of agreement across the “Football 301” panel: CeeDee Lamb is firmly entrenched as Dallas\u2019 No. 1 receiver.<\/p>\n As McDonald said, \u201cCeeDee Lamb is going to be the No. 1 target, obviously … he’s a better receiver than George [Pickens]. He’s more dialed in.\u201d There\u2019s zero doubt Lamb is \u201cthe guy,\u201d both in the huddle and on the stat sheet.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n That said, the Cowboys\u2019 passing attack has been missing a legitimate X receiver, someone who can line up outside, beat press coverage, and consistently win on challenging routes like stops and back-shoulders. Since Michael Gallup<\/a>\u2019s injuries, Dallas has scrambled to fill that void. Tice pointed out Dallas\u2019 reliance on Lamb for those isolation throws because, \u201cCeeDee is good on those, but that’s not the best skill set for CeeDee.\u201d Adding Pickens is Dallas\u2019 answer to finally freeing up Lamb, allowing him to attack defenses in the spots where he\u2019s truly elite.<\/p>\n More slot power, more creativity<\/p>\n Harmon emphasized, \u201cIf you have CeeDee as that ISO guy … it kind of limits the rest of your offense because you want CeeDee in the slot and you want him being a power slot and it can bump out to Z and do some flanker stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The Cowboys now have newfound flexibility to unleash Lamb on the inside, putting him in motion, in the slot, and in matchups that let him maximize his yards-after-catch ability.<\/p>\n With Pickens drawing coverage and handling those demanding outside routes \u2014 including the stop routes Dak Prescott<\/a> loves to throw \u2014 Lamb can operate as a power slot while also moving around the formation. That means more mismatches, more opportunities to take advantage of slower linebackers or nickel corners and more creativity for Dallas\u2019 play designers.<\/p>\n Quality over quantity isn’t necessarily bad<\/p>\n Some fantasy managers and fans might worry that Pickens will eat into Lamb\u2019s 2023-level target share. But as Harmon explained, the type of looks Lamb is likely to get will be higher quality: \u201cMaybe they’ll probably be higher quality opportunities, but will [Pickens] be engaged enough to make the most of them?\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n In essence, even if Lamb\u2019s raw target numbers dip slightly, the presence of Pickens should draw defensive attention and create more favorable alignments and coverage scenarios for Lamb.<\/p>\n Reducing wear and tear, and anticipating a more explosive ceiling<\/p>\n Playing the X is physically and mentally taxing. Last season, Lamb shouldered that load by necessity.<\/p>\n By shifting those responsibilities to Pickens, the Cowboys not only maximize Lamb\u2019s skills but preserve his health for the long haul.<\/p>\n Pickens is a big-play threat, ranking among the league leaders in yards per route run against man coverage. Teams will have to account for his ability to stretch the field vertically, while Lamb\u2019s quickness and versatility become even more dangerous underneath.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Dallas’ offense can achieve better balance, and defenses will have to pick their poison in coverage.<\/p>\n Final verdict on the trade<\/p>\n The “Football 301” crew agrees: Adding Pickens is a risk for the Cowboys, but it\u2019s a \u201cbet worth making\u201d because of the way it complements Lamb. With Pickens handling the X role, Lamb is primed to be even more efficient and dangerous. His volume may see minor adjustments, but his fantasy and real-life ceiling becomes even higher with less attention from top cornerbacks and more ideal usage as a power slot\/flanker hybrid.<\/p>\n The Pickens trade doesn\u2019t threaten Lamb\u2019s status as Dallas\u2019 WR1. Instead, it allows Lamb to slide into a more valuable, versatile role that\u2019s tailor-made for his skills. If anything, expect more impact per touch \u2014and a Cowboys offense with its most dangerous 1\u20132 punch since the days of Dez Bryant and prime DeMarco Murray.<\/p>\n To hear more NFL discussions, tune into “Football 301<\/a>” on Apple<\/a>, Spotify<\/a> or YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(This article was written with the assistance of Castmagic, an AI tool, and reviewed by our editorial team…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38174,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2066],"tags":[1121,230,1370,229,257,2461,14126,14125,7,467,5145,10737,6,57,1119],"class_list":{"0":"post-38173","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-cowboys","8":"tag-ceedee-lamb","9":"tag-cowboys","10":"tag-dak-prescott","11":"tag-dallas","12":"tag-dallas-cowboys","13":"tag-dallascowboys","14":"tag-demarco-murray","15":"tag-dez-bryant","16":"tag-football","17":"tag-george-pickens","18":"tag-matt-harmon","19":"tag-michael-gallup","20":"tag-nfl","21":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","22":"tag-the-cowboys"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114481705548791550","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Dallas](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2972bb80-2cf5-11f0-bebd-4725e74dcc73.jpeg\"\/)
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