With the offense back to full strength for the Dallas Cowboys, the debate between which WR to draft in fantasy football leagues between CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper is as hot a topic as ever. With more and more drafts kicking off with just a few short weeks until the start of the 2021 NFL season, which Cowboys WR should fantasy managers draft — Cooper or Lamb?
Why you should draft CeeDee Lamb in 2021 fantasy football leagues
To this day, I still have no idea how Jerry Jones managed to have CeeDee Lamb fall into his lap on draft day in 2020. It might be the most surprising thing to happen all year. Well, on second thought…maybe not, but I digress.
Lamb is as special as it gets, and ever since his days at Oklahoma, we knew he would quickly rise into the elite ranks of the NFL’s receivers. He wasted no time either, showcasing his skills as a rookie despite the chaos that was the NFL’s offseason.
In his first five games in the NFL, Lamb recorded 29 receptions on 40 targets for 433 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was the WR11 in PPR scoring while averaging 17.1 points per game. The Weeks 1-5 split shows how incredible his start was. Unfortunately, a devastating ankle injury to QB Dak Prescott meant Lamb, along with the rest of the offense, would see a drop in productivity at no fault of their own.
From Week 6 on, Lamb was the WR35, hauling in 45 of his 71 targets for 502 yards and 3 touchdowns, averaging 12 points per game. He went from averaging 5.8 receptions and 86.6 yards per game to 4.1 receptions with 45.6 yards.
With the return of Prescott in 2021, Lamb is poised to not only have a better season, but he could very well be a top-five fantasy receiver. Even with Prescott missing 11 games, the Cowboys were one of only three teams (Steelers and Bengals) who had three receivers over 100 targets last season. Given the projected volume and the increase of fantasy points per attempt, Lamb will go ballistic in 2021.
The case for CeeDee Lamb over Amari Cooper
I’m not going to sit here and say that Cooper is not talented. That would be a complete and utter lie on my part. He is one of the best route-running technicians in the NFL and has weeks where he can go wild. But for all the hype he gets, how often do we see fantasy managers complaining about having a poor showing from Cooper? Quite a bit, honestly.
Since joining the Cowboys in 2018 (45 active games), Cooper has finished as the WR18, WR10, and WR11 but has been a WR1 just 21% of the time in weekly outcomes. In 51% of his games, he’s been a WR3 or worse.
Based on what we have seen from Cooper, the upside simply is not there for him to significantly outperform his draft capital. As for Lamb, we are just scratching the surface of what he is capable of as a professional.
I would argue that, even in Year 1, Lamb’s route running was on par with Cooper. However, I think he is already ahead of Cooper as a receiver in terms of contested-catch situations, body control, and hands. That’s not a knock on Cooper, but to illustrate how amazing Lamb is. Go back and look at his sensational TD against the Vikings last season if you need a refresher.
In fantasy, I want all the upside I can get. Not only does Lamb have massive fantasy upside, but he has one of the highest floors of WRs we project to break out in 2021. His ceiling is at a level that Cooper cannot reach. The fact you can acquire him in the middle to back end of the third round (WR16 & 44.3 ADP on Sleeper) and after Cooper is stealing.
Why you should draft Amari Cooper in 2021 fantasy football leagues
With Prescott under center, the Cowboys’ triumvirate were must-starts through Week 5, and Cooper was leading the way (WR8 in PPR). Averaging 17.8 points per game, Cooper caught 39 of his 55 targets for 424 yards and a touchdown. If we just went to Week 4 and removed the game where Prescott played only a half, Cooper was the WR1 in fantasy at 21.3 ppg.
Cooper was one of just four receivers, including Allen Robinson, DeAndre Hopkins, and Stefon Diggs, to see over 50 targets through the first five weeks — not bad company if you ask me. Even with Prescott on the shelf for the rest of the season, Cooper did not see the drastic decline both Lamb and Michael Gallup saw. From Week 6 on, Cooper was the WR22, catching 53 of his 75 targets for 690 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Since joining the Cowboys, Cooper has been one of the NFL’s top receivers. He is seventh in receptions (224), fifth in yardage (3,028), and tied for seventh in touchdowns (19) while averaging 13.5 yards per reception.
With the Cowboys projected to be one of the pass-happiest teams in 2021, Cooper is primed for another sensational season and has WR1 upside with Prescott back on the field.
The case for Amari Cooper over CeeDee Lamb
For as good as Lamb should be, the Cowboys have $100 million reasons to keep Cooper as the alpha on the team. Even with Lamb as the hot new face in town, Cooper was the WR1 for the Cowboys, and it wasn’t really close.
Cooper saw more targets (130), red-zone targets (14), caught more passes (92), compiled more yards after the catch (413), and topped Lamb in catch percentage (70.8%). For everything fantasy managers hope Lamb will do in 2021, Cooper has been doing for years and is still in his prime.
In 29 full games with Prescott, Cooper has averaged 8.5 targets and 80 receiving yards per game while coming in just shy of 17 points per game. Those are WR1 numbers. There can only be so much volume to go around on a Cowboys’ offense that has three sensational receivers until someone is left out of the workload. Cooper’s likely to lead the Cowboys in targets once again, which gives him the stable floor that fantasy managers need in early picks.
While the ADP shows Cooper going slightly higher than Lamb (WR14 to WR16), that’s normally how it plays out in drafts. Managers are drafting Lamb with an ADP that is already projecting his breakout, which can be problematic. Cooper has a track record of success as a fantasy football WR that Lamb does not yet have.
Which WR should you draft in fantasy football between CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper?
Of the NFL offenses with fantasy-relevant talent, no team is deeper than the Cowboys. Prescott is a top-five QB. Ezekiel Elliott is a top-five running back. Cooper and Lamb are high-end WR2s, and Gallup is a top-48 receiver as well. At their current values, you cannot go wrong drafting Cowboys in 2021.
The question between Cooper and Lamb comes down to whether you want a better value or upside. If you want the value, take whoever goes after the other on draft day. Odds are both will finish close enough to each other at the end of the season, where this was a moot conversation.
But if you are looking for that player who could be the difference-maker at WR on your fantasy football team, I think you need to take a hard look at Lamb. For everything that Cooper has done, there’s something special about Lamb when he’s on the field.
I would not be surprised if he takes over the WR1 role in 2021 for the Cowboys and is a top-five fantasy football WR. For me and how I construct my teams, Lamb is the type of player I want as my WR1. Cooper is someone I…accept.