Fantasy Football Player Notes

CeeDee Lamb had a "down" year last season as the WR11 in fantasy points per game, but that finish doesn't really tell the entire story of Lamb's season. In Week 3, he played only seven snaps, and in Week 18, he played only 45.5% of the snaps. If we remove those two games, he averaged 16.6 PPR points per game, which would have him as the WR9 in fantasy points per game last season. In that 12-game sample, Lamb drew a 24.8% target share with 89.4 receiving yards per game, 2.51 yards per route run, a 32.3% first-read share, and 0.098 first downs per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). Overall, those marks would have ranked 13th, third, ninth, 12th, and 26th among all receivers with at least 200 routes last season. Lamb remains a locked-in WR1 with a stellar quarterback in his prime and George Pickens alongside him to keep defenses honest.

Last season was a monster breakout season for George Pickens as the WR5 in fantasy points per game. His splits with CeeDee Lamb out and active were dramatic, but that doesn't mean that Pickens wasn't awesome in both realms. With Lamb in the huddle, Pickens averaged 15 fantasy points per game versus 24.2 with him out. Across that entire season with Lamb, that would have made Pickens the WR11 in fantasy points per game, and without him, he would have been the WR1 in fantasy points per game. With Lamb, Pickens had a 20.2% target share with 2.24 yards per route run, 77.1 receiving yards per game, a 25.2% first-read share, and 0.116 first downs per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). Without Lamb, those numbers jumped to a 23.6% target share, 3.14 yards per route run, 106.8 receiving yards per game, a 34.1% first-read share, and 0.154 first downs per route run. No matter how you slice it, Pickens was elite last year, and he should be a WR1 again this season in a pass-first Dallas offense.

Ryan Flournoy stepped up in a big way last year as the Dallas Cowboys' No. 3 WR, posting two 100-yard games when CeeDee Lamb missed time. The third-year WR finished 31st in yards per route run (1.82, 16th in this rank over his last five games) and 13th in 1st downs per route run, showcasing his efficiency. "Flo" might not have much standalone value when everybody on Dallas is healthy, but there's clearly upside appeal that he can deliver when called upon if Lamb or George Pickens misses time in 2026. The rare WR upside handcuff.