Fantasy Football 2024: Why WR CeeDee Lamb should be your top pick

Okay, it’s obvious that anyone would be happy to have Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb on their fantasy football lineup. But is he worth taking first overall, if given the chance? YES. And here’s why.

Making the case for Lamb as the No. 1 FF pick 2024

CeeDee Lamb was the WR1 in fantasy last season in both total points and points per game. And while players like Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tyreek Hill will certainly not disappoint you either, here’s why Lamb has the most upside.

1. More targets

CeeDee Lamb was already the Cowboys player with the most targets last season with 181. Behind him was tight end Jake Ferguson with 102. In his final 11 games, Lamb totaled an insane 101-1, 274-11 line on 139 targets. This season, he’s expected to be targeted even more for two reasons - WR Michael Gallup is out and RB Tony Pollard is out.

The Cowboys’ replacement for Gallup is sixth-round pick, rookie Ryan Flournoy, and the replacement for Pollard is 29-year-old Ezekiel Elliott. Neither is going to bring competition for targets to CeeDee and in fact, will only leave him open to more.

With only Ferguson and Brandin Cooks to compete with for targets, Lamb is already a step above the other top receivers in the league as far as fantasy.

2. Linear improvement

Lamb has been in the NFL for four seasons and has gotten steadily better in each one of them. He improved in each of the major statistical categories every year, setting a career-high in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns.

He produced three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons after his rookie season, which was just 65 yards shy of that number. Last season, he set single-season franchise records - 135 receptions (first in the NFL) and 1,749 receiving yards. His receiving touchdowns have also gone steadily up - from five to six to nine, and finally 12 touchdowns in the 2023 season. The trajectory is looking good for 2024.

3. He’s young

CeeDee Lamb is just 25 years old, which is a big factor to consider. Four years of consistent improvement might not mean anything for a running back or a 30-year-old receiver (like Tyreek Hill, for example), but for a young receiver, it means there’s still even more room left for improvement.

Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase are young, too, this is true. But Chase has been less consistent and has more competition, and Jefferson has a less reliable quarterback than Lamb.

The point against Lamb as No. 1 overall

I think the case can easily be made that Lamb should be the No. 1 receiver overall, but there’s perhaps just one point against him as the number one player overall. And this will depend greatly on where you’re positioned in your fantasy draft and what’s available to you.

That would be that the gap between Lamb and the other receivers is much smaller than the gap between San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey and the other RBs. Still, if given the choice between the two, Lamb’s upside is much stronger.