Who becomes Cowboys' No. 1 receiving target with CeeDee Lamb out vs. Packers?

FRISCO, Texas -- Just before the Dallas Cowboys kicked off the 2025 NFL season at the Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles, new head coach Brian Schottenheimer had a moment with All-Pro, No. 1 wide receiver CeeDee Lamb.

Schottenheimer had a Musfasa-Simba moment with Lamb, showing Dallas' four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver everything the light touches, or in this case, all the plays in which he is the Cowboys' first read. He also showed Lamb everything that was available just below for new Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens. Now, the wide volume of the Lamb-dedicated targets is up for grabs with No. 88 likely to miss Week 4 against the Green Bay Packers with a high ankle sprain. Lamb hasn't officially been ruled out, owner/general manager Jerry Jones said on Monday that putting Lamb on injured reserve is a discussion the team is having. 

"I showed CeeDee before the game all of his targets. So on the back of your call sheet, you have to get the ball to certain people, and it was like 'CeeDee look at all your targets.' Literally, George's was right below him, and I was like 'look at all of George's targets.' Obviously the way we're designing the game plan is to feature your playmakers," Schottenheimer said before kickoff in Week 1 vs. the Eagles. "It's very evident that those two guys are elite players."

Now, Pickens' plays will likely be moved to the top of Schottenheimer's play call sheet with Lamb sidelined by a high ankle sprain he suffered in Week 3 at the Chicago Bears when linebacker Noah Sewell rolled up on his ankle. Yes, the head coach went out of his way to say the gameplan will have more variety with Lamb out of the picture, but it's clear Pickens and tight end Jake Ferguson will be the passing game focal points going forward.  

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"We add more rows [on the call sheet] for more guys. Fergy is going to have a big section this week. You know Fergy is playing really well right now. I think I really like the way all of our tight ends are playing. Jalen Tolbert is a guy you all know led us in touchdowns last year with seven [receiving] touchdowns," Schottenheimer said on Wednesday. "He'll have to step up if CeeDee doesn't play. [KaVontae] Turp[in] will have his, but George is always going to be a focal part of what we're doing whether CeeDee is out there or not. That doesn't really change. I would say George's role doesn't really change. It's more of some of the other guys around him that would change."

What will change is how the Packers' defense will shade their coverage toward Pickens. When he and Lamb are both on the field, it's almost impossible to run double coverage because that leaves one of the two one-on-one. Lamb's 3,165 yards receiving are tied with Cincinnati All-Pro Ja'Marr Chase are the most in the NFL since 2023, and he leads all wide receivers in yards from scrimmage (3,348) in that span. Pickens' 16.1 yards per catch leads the league among players with at least 150 catches since he was drafted in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.  

"He'll probably be getting a little bit more attention in regards to the coverage. The opportunity is obviously there for him, but it's there for the other guys too," Cowboys offensive coordinator Klayton Adams said Thursday. "There's a certain amount of balls that would probably get spread out between CeeDee and GP. Now, the other guys in the room ... this is their opportunity to do something, and we expect them to play at a really high level for us."

Pickens himself said he's "most definitely" expecting more double coverage. However, he doesn't feel like that will change his approach very much. That's because even if he is double-covered, the 24-year-old is confident in his ability to make the play or draw a pass interference flag on the defense. His three defensive pass interference penalties drawn is tied for the most in the NFL this season. 

"Not really," Pickens said Thursday when asked if being double teamed changes a lot. "Because you can always, especially with me, I can either get the flag, or I'm going to make the catch. Whether it's two, three, four, five guys. I'm going to get the flag or get the catch. It's always a good thing."

Despite a drop to begin the fourth quarter in Dallas' 31-14 Week 3 defeat at the Chicago Bears, Pro Bowl quarterback Dak Prescott feels he's at a good place with his on-field chemistry with Pickens just three regular season games into their time together. 

"Yeah, it's [the chemistry] where we need to be at this point. Obviously there's always going to be growth, that's with any receiver. Anybody that I play with in the sense of we're never complacent, we're always going to push it, but very comfortable, very confident in what he's going to do, where I expect him to be, where he expects the ball," Prescott said on Thursday. ... "A conversation we just had out there today was one that was needed after a couple of incompletions on a certain ball, just getting back at it and us having the same mindset of how we're going to attack that route. He's a great player. I told y'all that from the time he showed up. Guys like George, CeeDee, they make it easy for that chemistry to go. They do their job. I just talk to them a little bit here, what I expect there and they go and make plays. So I'm looking just to continue to build on what we've only started."  

That chemistry will be critical because many of Prescott's throws on Sunday night will likely involve the Cowboys quarterback throwing to spots and trusting his intended target will be there. Dallas is playing with a backup center (Brock Hoffman) and right guard (T.J. Bass) in the lineup with both starting center Cooper Beebe (ankle) and right guard Tyler Booker (ankle) sidelined. 

Oh, and in case you haven't heard, the Packers have former Cowboys All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons now after trading him to Green Bay for two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark a week before the season. Parsons is producing the highest quarterback pressure rate (21.8%) among all edge rushers this season even though he's been double-teamed at the highest rate (18.4%) among edge rushers, according to NextGenStats via NFL Media. Opposite of him on Green Bay's front seven is Pro Bowl edge rusher Rashan Gary: he leads the NFL with 4.5 sacks entering Week 4. 

"Timing on routes, that's what I was saying for all the receivers," Pickens said. "If you show up on the right timing, it should be an OK game. ... I feel like he [Prescott] is one of the best at that [tight window throws] and with me timing off my steps too, and I can change it. It helps a lot."

* Would be 8th in NFL in span since 2020 

Pickens' reception heat map from his last two seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2023-2024), via TruMedia, indicates a bright, glowing yellow along the sidelines where he was a big-play deep threat as his gaudy 16.1 career yards per catch average indicates. It also indicates a sharp decline in route volume over the middle of the field. 

This season, the Cowboys have used Pickens much more underneath and over the middle while still sprinkling in deep, downfield targets as well. That variety forces defense to at least have to consider more areas to cover when Pickens breaks off the line of scrimmage this season. 

"I feel like it's good. Guys like to play me outside, shade [toward] the go ball, perimeter stuff," Pickens said. "So it [the middle of the field] is open for me, so I just take it." 

TE Jake Ferguson also primed for high target share

Pro Bowl tight end Jake Ferguson's 27 catches are the second-most in the NFL behind only Los Angeles Pro Bowl wide receiver Puka Nacua's 29 this season. They also stand as the most by any player through the first three games of a season in Cowboys history, and Ferguson is now tied with Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end Antonio Gates (2007) for the most catches by a tight end through the first three games of a season in NFL history. Despite the high volume of receptions, Ferguson's 183 receiving yards, created on an average of 6.8 yards per reception, rank 24th in the league thus far.

"I would say just taking the right steps. I just caught a lot of checkdowns. With a [Packers] defense like that and CeeDee going down, sometimes that's all we can hit -- some checkdowns," Ferguson said on Wednesday. "In my opinion, I want to get more yards. I think I should be breaking more tackles, but I think that just comes with letting the game come to you, not trying to do too much. Not trying to be a superhero. Just playing my game."

However, he knows he'll be asked to do more with Lamb sidelined, which may mean putting on the cape while running some seam routes over the middle.

"It's next man up, so I just got to be clean," Ferguson said. ... "Getting with Dak and just looking at some of those routes and saying 'this is where I need to be, this is where I want to be and this is where you need me to be' so that when he does need to make a throw, I'm there." 

Prescott recalled Ferguson being there for him for an 18-yard gain over the middle to set up kicker Brandon Aubrey's 64-yard, game-tying field goal in an eventual 40-37 overtime victory in Week 2 over the New York Giants. That's the type of timing that has Prescott feeling good about his over the middle security blanket. 

"Jake's a guy I've always had confidence in," Prescott said Thursday. ... "I go back to the end-of-the-game play against New York. That doesn't happen without all of the reps that we've put in together. I'm super-confident in who he is, what he's going to do and expect another big game from him."

The last time Dallas faced the Packers, they were embarrassed 48-32 in the 2023 NFC wild card round, a game they once trailed 27-0. One of the few bright spots, if one can call it that, was Ferguson catching a playoff career-high 10 catches for 93 yards and three touchdowns in the postseason defeat. Obviously, Dallas isn't looking for a repeat overall performance, but Ferguson wouldn't mind replicating that type of production on Sunday night. 

"Sometimes the seam ball is there against this guy [Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley], and I do love the seam ball," Ferguson said. "However, we don't know what they're going to give. They might throw the kitchen sink. Who knows? But the best thing we can do is just prepare for everything, and at the same time, play Cowboys football. Play our game."