Dallas Cowboys wideout CeeDee Lamb was confronted about his history of dropped passes during a recent appearance on 105.3 The Fan, and the Pro Bowl receiver did not run away from the conversation. If anything, Lamb’s definition of a “good” practice might be tougher than any standard the Cowboys could reasonably set for him.
When asked how he handles drops, Lamb explained why the issue can look worse than it is, while also making clear he has no intention of accepting it.
“All of my drops, I feel like it’s been three in one game [or] four in one game,” Lamb said. “It just happens so much that it looks like so much. But at the end of the day, I’m only as good as my next play, so I just gotta go score a touchdown or something.”
The cluster-drop reality
That was a fair assessment. Lamb was charged with eight drops in 2025, but six came in the Cowboys’ two meetings with Philadelphia, according to CBS Sports and TruMedia. He had four in the season opener and two more in their Week 12 rematch, leaving only two across the rest of the regular season.
It is a pattern that has followed Lamb throughout his career. His mistakes have often been bunched into a few high-variance games or stretches instead of defining an entire season. Lamb had another eight-drop season in 2021, with multiple miscues arriving in the opener against Tampa Bay. In 2020, after Dak Prescott’s season-ending ankle injury, the rookie worked through a rotating cast of Andy Dalton, Ben DiNucci and Garrett Gilbert.
The 2024 season brought another version of that adversity. Prescott’s hamstring injury ended his season midway through the year, forcing Lamb and the passing game to adjust to backup quarterback play. TruMedia charged Lamb with a career-high 11 drops that season, though totals vary by source.
While none of that erases his dropped passes. It does, however, provide context. A flaw looks a lot bigger when it arrives in one ugly afternoon, especially when that afternoon comes against the Eagles.
A standard few can meet
But Lamb is not interested in giving himself that context.
“As [many] times as I get targeted, the ball should never hit the ground,” Lamb said. “Whether it’s PBU, whether it’s a drop, whether it’s a bad ball, regardless of what it is … anytime the ball is targeted to me, I consider it a catchable ball.”
That is a wild standard for any receiver, let alone one consistently asked to beat double coverage, make contested catches and turn difficult targets into yards after the catch. But it explains why Lamb judges practice on far more than highlight catches. He evaluates his releases against press coverage, route depth, alignment, blocking and whether he handled every assignment that helps the offense function.
He also identified the root of his drops: trying to make the next move before securing the catch.
“Every single drop has been always taking my eyes off the ball when the ball arrived because I’m automatically thinking I caught it,” Lamb explained.
The Prescott-Lamb connection has been productive. Dak Prescott has a 98.0 passer rating when he targets Lamb, but there is room for more efficiency. Lamb’s 66.4% catch rate in 2024 and 64.1% catch rate in 2025 ranked him as 36th and 48th in the NFL for each respective season. Meanwhile, George Pickens caught 93 of 137 targets and was charged with five drops by PFF.
Pickens also offered a glimpse at the ceiling of a fully efficient Prescott connection. Prescott’s 122.2 passer rating when targeting Pickens ranked second in the NFL among duos with at least 80 targets entering Week 14, according to Next Gen Stats.
Lamb does not need to become Pickens, nor should Dallas ask him to. His role comes with tougher coverage, more defensive attention and more difficult throws. But if Lamb’s “catch, tuck, then make your move” mentality turns even a few more targets into completions, it could be the difference between another frustrating possession and the explosive offense Dallas believes it can be.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Drop Shipment: Lamb’s standard looks to deliver him from past miscues
Reporting by Jazz Monet, Cowboys Wire / Cowboys Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jazz Monet, Cowboys Wire | USA TODAY Network
