Despite Training Camp Holdout, Lamb Ready To Catch On
The 2024 CeeDee Lamb Season Odds Projects Another Huge Season For Dallas Receiver
A Huge Contract Is Coming For Dallas Star Receiver CeeDee Lamb
After one of the best seasons for the receiver in NFL history, Dallas Cowboys fans are anxious to see CeeDee Lamb back on the field for the NFC East contenders. Lamb hasn’t reported to training camp as he is looking for a contract extension. The 2024 CeeDee Lamb season odds still have him among the most productive pass catchers in the NFL.
The Cowboys had already moved on from a 1000-yard rusher when Tony Pollard signed with the Tennessee Titans. Not having one of the NFL’s top receivers could have an impact on an offense that was third in the NFL in passing yards per game and fifth in total offense during the 2024 season.
After Brandin Cooks, the wide receiver with the Cowboys with the most career catches in the regular season is Jalen Tolbert. Ladies and gentlemen, that is called a pretty strong negotiating position for Lamb.
Dallas wraps up the preseason portion of the schedule against the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday. The Cowboys are currently listed by the NFL odds as two-point road underdogs against the Cleveland Browns in the Sept. 8 season opener. The question is whether Lamb will be with the Cowboys in that game.
Lamb Sees Plenty of Targets
In each of his first four seasons, the number of targets have gone up from 111 to 120 to 156 and then 181. Lamb also went from catching 68.6% of the passes thrown his way in 2022 to hauling in 74.6% of his passes.
The 2024 CeeDee Lamb season odds are projecting a dip in production after he had an NFL-best 135 catches for 1749 yards and 12 touchdown catches. He also ran for two more scores.
The receiving yards were the ninth most in NFL history with the 181 targets tied for 15th on the NFL’s single-season list.
A quick peek at the 2024 NFL predictions shows that there are +110 odds for Lamb to go over 1350.5 receiving yards with +100 odds to have another season with at least 10 touchdown catches in the regular season. He is priced at -115 to go over 104.5 receptions.
He is tied with Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Detroit Lions at +600 to lead the NFL in receptions with Lamb and Hill tied at +900 to top the NFL in receiving touchdowns. Hill (+600) and Lamb (+650) lead the way in the odds to lead the NFL in receiving yards.
Lamb’s presence is one of the reasons why quarterback Dak Prescott is projected to have another 4000-yard season.
When looking at the NFL MVP odds, only Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers, Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins, and Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals have shorter odds than Lamb to be the NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
A Contract Update
There are reports out there that a $33 million contract was not enough to Lamb to sign on the dotted line. He is looking for something in the range of $35 million with more money up front and more guaranteed money.
When he does sign, Dallas will be devoting large chunks of money will be devoted to the top two offensive players with Prescott is set to be the second-highest paid player in the NFL.
According to the sportrac.com database, Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams is the highest-paid receiver during the 2024 season at just under $30 million followed by Deebo Samuel of the San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay’s Chris Godwin.
Lamb is set to make $18 million this season. That put him behind Prescott and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence on the Cowboys.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones originally told the media there was no sense of urgency to get Lamb signed early in the preseason. There was some backlash for his comments.
He sang a different tune when the subject came up again.
“I understand completely the angst that’s happening when you are missed or not. Well, CeeDee, you are missed.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has a new message for hold out WR CeeDee Lamb on the teams Count Down to Kickoff Show:
“I think I got in trouble about it the other day when I said, ‘Look, we’re not urgent about CeeDee’. Well, no one appreciates CeeDee being on the field any more than…
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) August 11, 2024
A Look At The Dallas WR Room
Ten of the 16 wide receivers on the current roster for the Cowboys are either rookies or second-year players. Seven of those receivers have never caught a pass in the regular season for the Cowboys. It is not a surprise that despite the unknown status of their top receiver, the 2024 CeeDee Lamb season odds have Lamb ready for another huge season.
The San Francisco 49ers face a similar situation with Brandon Aiyuk. The front office proactively drafted Ricky Pearsall in the 2024 first round.
Dallas used its first-round pick on Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton. They utilized the second-round pick on defensive end Marshawn Kneeland.
The third-round pick went to Kansas State offensive lineman Cooper Beebe, even with top receivers Burton and Wilson available.
In a 27-12 preseason win over Las Vegas, Ryan Flournoy led Dallas with four catches, and Racey McMath gained 54 receiving yards.
Without Lamb, Dallas’s receiving group appears weak, with tight end Jake Ferguson emerging as the top pass catcher in camp.
What About the Cowboys?
The Cowboys face the AFC runner-up Baltimore in Week 3. Despite this, their early schedule is pretty reasonable.
Things get a little challenging with games against the Detroit Lions, the San Francisco 49ers, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Houston Texans in a span of five weeks.
Dallas was 12-2 when listed as the favorite during the 2023 season with the Cowboys going 0-4 as the underdog. Dallas covered in 10 of 14 games as a favorite with a 6-3 mark as the home favorite. Six of the nine home games for Dallas went over the total.
Dallas is fifth at +900 in the odds of winning the NFC championship with the Philadelphia Eagles (-130) ahead of the Cowboys at +160 in the NFC East odds.
Cowboys priced at -190 to make the playoffs with +2000 odds to win the Super Bowl. Dallas has made the playoffs six times in the last 10 seasons. However, since winning Super Bowl XXX after the 1995 season,
Dallas is just 5-13 in the playoffs. The Cowboys have lost six of their last 10 playoffs when listed as the favorite. The Cowboys have covered in just two of those games.
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