As the Dallas Cowboys look to get back in the win column in tomorrow’s home game against the New York Giants, there is a looming question that needs to be asked moving forward for the rest of the season. Who is the Cowboys second receiver? 

Obviously, Ceedee Lamb holds the number one spot on the team and there is a clear gap between him and the next receiver. In the Cowboys nine games this season, Lamb has 57 receptions on 72 targets (79.2% catch), 824 receiving yards and 3 receiving touchdowns. Lamb has been on a tear in his last three games, as he has 30 receptions on 37 targets (81% catch), 466 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. With 11 receptions and 191 yards in his last game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Lamb has tied Cowboys’ legend Michael Irvin for the franchise record for the most games with 10 receptions and 150 yards in a season at 3 games.

The Cowboys newest receiver Brandin Cooks has been disappointing so far this season. The Cowboys traded for Cooks from the Houston Texans back in March this year for a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft and a sixth-round pick in next year’s draft. In his first nine games with the team as the supposed number two receiver, Cooks has 17 receptions on 29 targets (58.6% catch), 165 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. Cooks had his first touchdown of the season in Week 6 against the Los Angeles Chargers, and the second in Week 8 against the Los Angeles Rams. The Cowboys hoped his streak would continue against the Eagles, but Cooks only had 1 reception for 7 yards on 2 targets. 

Michael Gallup has been another disappointing receiver for the Cowboys especially after a disappointing season in 2022. What makes his 2022 season more understandable is the fact that Gallup tore his ACL on January 2, 2022. He missed the first three games of the season and finished with 39 receptions on 74 targets (52.7% catch), 424 yards and 4 touchdowns. Although he is set to get more receptions this season, his receiving yards are not projected to be much better. In his 8 games, Gallup has 22 receptions on 38 targets (57.9% catch), 243 receiving yards with no touchdowns. Many were hoping for Gallup to play better this season after more time out from his injury but unfortunately, that has not been the case.

With the struggles of Cooks and Gallup, tight end Jake Ferguson has done his best to step up to the plate for the offense. In his first season as the number one tight end, Ferguson has 32 receptions on 43 targets (74.4% catch), 328 receiving yards with 3 touchdowns. Quarterback Dak Prescott is known to like throwing to tight ends and that continues to be the case with Ferguson, especially of late. Against the Eagles, Ferguson had the best game in his NFL career. He had 7 receptions on 10 targets, 91 receiving yards and a touchdown.

It is possible that Ferguson stays the number two for Prescott and the Cowboys. It is possible that Cooks or Gallup can start to click and make a difference for the offense. There is even a possibility of seeing more opportunities come for players like Jalen Tolbert or KaVontae Turpin or even the Cowboys newest signed receiver Martavis Bryant, who was signed on Tuesday. At the end of the day more needs to be done by players other than Lamb in the hopes of keeping the effectiveness of the offense for the rest of the 2023 season.