Who Should I Start? CeeDee Lamb or Josh Downs

Sunday, May 3, 6:01 AM

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb finished 2023 with one of the highest-scoring fantasy seasons of all time, rightfully peaking as the WR1 in consensus dynasty rankings. Since then, injuries to both himself and his quarterback have seen him fall to RotoBaller's WR7. After Dak Prescott missed nine games in 2024 with a serious hamstring injury, Lamb missed three starts of his own in 2025 while dealing with a high ankle sprain, but the biggest factor in Lamb's declining value is undoubtedly the breakout of George Pickens, who promptly finished as the WR5 on the strength of 1,429 receiving yards and nine touchdowns after Dallas sent third and fifth-round picks to acquire him from the Steelers. The recent pageantry around Pickens' signing of his franchise tag suggests there may be some uncertainty about his future with the Cowboys, but even if the sides can eventually work out a long-term deal, Lamb will continue to be the first option in Dallas. In games where both players took at least 50 offensive snaps in 2025, Lamb out-earned Pickens by 2.6 targets per contest. At 27 years old, and having topped 1,000 yards from scrimmage in each of his first six seasons, Lamb is still one of the most reliable players in the game, and when things go right, as they did in 2023, he's capable of winning leagues.