CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens are set to be the center of the Dallas Cowboys’ offense, and that alone gives the upcoming season a very different feel. With the regular season getting closer, the conversation around Dallas is already shifting toward how far this group can go with that receiver pairing at the top.
Todd Archer of ESPN laid out his 53-man roster projection on Monday, and the wideout picture was no surprise at the top. Lamb and Pickens are his clear No. 1 and No. 2 receivers, while Ryan Flournoy and KaVontae Turpin are essentially locked into the top four spots.
That group gives Dak Prescott a loaded receiving room to work with, and Lamb and Pickens are more than just targets. They look like the identity of the offense.
The two have been clicking during training camp, and the expectation is that whatever they build there could carry straight into September. Both were Pro Bowlers in 2025, and Pickens also earned second-team All-Pro honors.
Archer’s projection also includes Jonathan Mingo and Camden Brown among the receivers. He pointed out that the back end of the group is still unsettled, writing, "The top four have been a given.
The last two have been in a state of flux," Brown, undrafted out of Georgia Southern, was able to take to the game what he did in practice. Mingo has earned his way into the mix with a solid summer performance."
The receiver room may be a strength, but Archer also flagged some trouble spots elsewhere on the roster, citing "questions about depth at cornerback, linebacker and running back."
In Other News...
Eagles Rookie Is Giving Cowboys Fans A Reason To Laugh
Training camp has already given Cowboys fans one small comfort in Philadelphia, and it comes courtesy of a rookie tight end who was supposed to help stabilize the Eagles passing game. Eli Stowers, a second-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, has instead spent much of camp and the preseason fighting to find his footing, with his blocking and receiving both drawing scrutiny as the Eagles try to sort through a depth chart battered by injuries at receiver.
For Dallas, the details are almost beside the point. Any time a division rival invests premium draft capital and then sees the early returns wobble, it invites the kind of unflattering comparisons that stick around, and Stowers has already been mentioned in the same breath as JJ Arcega-Whiteside, another second-round Eagles pick who never lived up to the billing. The bigger issue for Philadelphia is immediate pressure, because the injuries around him leave the rookie with even less margin for error as the season approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Suddenly Have A Real Roster Decision At Two Key Spots
The Cowboys got a useful look at a few roster battles in their second preseason game, and it did more than just fill out the exhibition calendar. Joe Milton kept building his case to be the backup quarterback, while wide receivers Camden Brown and Jonathan Mingo both put themselves in the conversation for final roster spots. With cutdowns approaching, Dallas is watching not just who plays well, but who keeps stacking productive snaps when the competition gets tighter.
Snap counts are becoming part of the conversation too, which is usually a sign the decisions are getting real. The Cowboys are sorting through a deeper receiving mix and weighing how much value each player brings beyond one good night in August, and they are also open to exploring trades if that helps shape the 53-man roster. For a team trying to balance upside, depth and certainty, the next few evaluations may matter as much as anything that happened in the preseason opener. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Suddenly Face A Tough QB Roster Decision
Dak Prescott is locked in as the Cowboys starter, but the competition behind him has become one of the more interesting roster questions in camp. Sam Howell and Joe Milton III have both put together strong preseason stretches, enough to make Dallas at least consider carrying all three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster even though teams usually prefer to keep just two.
Todd Archer of ESPN projects that possibility, and it speaks to how much the backup battle has shifted from a routine depth issue to a real decision point. The Cowboys still have not settled the spot behind Prescott, and with the preseason winding down, the outcome is less about naming a favorite and more about deciding whether either Howell or Milton has done enough to force an extra quarterback onto the roster. [Read more 🡒]