Some Dallas Cowboys fans may have had visions this past offseason of a dynamic duo at wideout featuring CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks after the Cowboys traded a fifth and sixth-round pick to the Houston Texans to acquire Cooks. That isn't how things have panned out so far in 2023, at least in the box score.
Cooks is on pace to set career lows in catches and receptions this season with 17 grabs for just 165 yards through eight games. That's nowhere near the standard Cooks set for the first nine years of his career, and questions are starting to swirl about whether coach Mike McCarthy's offense involves Cooks enough.
McCarthy believes that it does, just not in the way that most fans can appreciate. When asked about Cooks' role at a press conference on Monday afternoon, McCarthy argued that the goal of the Cowboys' offense is not to feature any one receiver at all, but to help Dak Prescott deliver the ball wherever he can.
“I don’t play fantasy football,” McCarthy said, per Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News. “We have game plans. I think it’s important, this is general for guys, because our system is built on making the quarterback successful.”
Prescott has been highly successful so far this season, particularly in each of the Cowboys' last three games. In his last three outings, Prescott has completed 71% of his passes for an average of 316 yards per game with eight touchdowns compared to one interception. Cooks reeled in eight catches on 10 targets for just 92 yards during that span, although he did catch touchdowns in consecutive games against the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams.
McCarthy has a point. His job is to put points on the board, not deliver the ball to as many receivers as possible. Dallas has an elite talent at wide receiver in CeeDee Lamb, who has taken his game to another level recently. The Cowboys have a responsibility to get Lamb the ball as much as possible because he's the most talented player in the offense. Cooks doesn't garner the same attention.
It is still concerning that Dallas isn't getting much from receivers outside of Lamb. Jake Ferguson is evolving into the second option in Dallas' passing attack, but it isn't unreasonable to expect greater production from Cooks. McCarthy's offense is still taking shape. There is still time to get the veteran more touches. After all, there was a time this season when Lambs' numbers weren't up to snuff, either.
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