Why the Cowboys are underutilizing their receiving depth

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It is normal to have a learning curve whenever a different play-caller comes into an offense.

In the case of the 2023 Dallas Cowboys, this season it has, at times, been a steep one.

Under the leadership of Kellen Moore during the 2022 season, the Cowboys’ offense was particularly potent in the red zone, operating at a rate of 71.43%, the best efficiency in the NFL.

With Moore now the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has been calling the plays for the offense.

To this point of the campaign, his unit has had varying degrees of success.

Cowboys’ Red Zone woes

Without Moore, the Cowboys’ offense has been particularly poor in the red zone, with an efficiency rating of 43.75%, the fourth-lowest in the league.

As for Moore, his Chargers are second at 69.23%, behind only the Miami Dolphins (75.00%).

McCarthy’s Texas Coast offense is 11th in the NFL for yards-per-game (354.9), though they are averaging 27.5 points-per-game, the fourth-highest mark.

Putting all their eggs in one basket

Go back a couple of years ago, and you’ll see that the Cowboys had plenty of pass-catching weapons.

They had one of the top route runners in Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb was thriving, and even Cedrick Wilson had proven to be dependable.

Fast forward to a year ago, and the Cowboys trade Cooper; Michael Gallup and Jalen Tolbert are inconsistent while James Washington is injured.

As productive as they were in the red zone in 2022, overall the Cowboys weren’t as great offensively as they are this year.

Currently, Dallas ranks 14th in the NFL regarding passing yards per game, which may be surprising given how many players have stepped up and made plays.

Lamb is getting the bulk of the targets with 72, 29 more than the Cowboys’ #2 pass catcher Jake Ferguson.

Brandin Cooks has found the end zone, Ferguson is having a career year, Tolbert is coming off his game with a TD grab, and Kavontae Turpin has found the end zone twice with 69 yards receiving.

That begs the question, why are most of Dak Prescott’s throws going to Lamb rather than being spread across the board?

They recently signed Martavis Bryant, so obviously, the Cowboys don’t believe they have enough depth at that position.

Why is it all going to Lamb?

The answer to Lamb getting the bulk of the targets boils down to a couple of reasons.

He’s got the hot hand, and just like a goalie in hockey or a basketball star, you want to ride a hot hand as long as possible.

Another theory could be the offensive setup that McCarthy has implemented.

That seems to have more weight behind it as their West Coast principles centre around Prescott getting the ball out quickly.

The Cowboys pivot has been lightning quick in that area, averaging 2.66 seconds per throw.

With the West Coast principles, Prescott has at most two reads on a given play and combining that with the timing and avoiding a scramble drill, completing passes has to happen fast.

Lamb being the go-to guy makes him the first look, and under this offensive setup, sometimes there’s no time to have a secondary option.

That approach has had mixed results throughout the year, and it will be interesting to see if it’s something that, in time, can provide more depth to this offense.