One of football’s gaudiest records seems ready for a fall, but one of the game’s premier playmakers apparently isn’t a real threat to break it.
That’s what NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks thinks, anyway. He recently showcased a list of five pass-catchers who he deems the biggest threats to Calvin Johnson’s single-season receiving record, but Cowboys superstar CeeDee Lamb is nowhere to be found.
It’s a somewhat puzzling stance, considering that Lamb led the NFL last season in receptions to finish a full 16 catches over the two runners-up (both of whom, coincidentally, did make Brooks’s list) and came in second in receiving yards.
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Lamb was one of just two men- along with Miami’s Tyreek Hill- to top 1,700 receiving yards in 2023. That’s getting awfully close to Johnson’s mark of 1,964, which he set in 2012. Johnson himself has noted that his record is bound to be toppled- likely soon- given both a heavier emphasis these days on passing and the addition of a 17th game to the NFL season.
But according to Brooks, it’s more likely to be Hill, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Justin Jefferson, George Pickens, or- you may want to sit down for this, Cowboys fans- Amari Cooper that does it than it is Lamb.
Hill is an obvious choice, having come within 166 yards of the record last year. Hitting 1,965 yards in 17 games requires a per-game average of 115.6 yards per contest. Hill wrapped up his 2023 with 112.4, putting him well within reach of Megatron.
St. Brown’s young career is still on the rise. In three seasons, his single-season yardage total jumped from 912 to 1,161 to 1,515. It could go even higher, but most of the Lions’ stacked offense returns for 2024, and there’s only one ball to go around.
The Vikings will look to get a big return on their investment in Jefferson. He was one of just three receivers to average triple digit yards per game last season, so he can set the field on fire… but can Sam Darnold/J.J. McCarthy reliably get him enough passes?
Pickens led all qualifying receivers last season in yards per catch, with 18.1. Even at that rate, he’d need 109 receptions to break the record, and only five players had that in 2024. (Pickens had 63.) New Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith would have to really commit to a downfield attack.
Cooper’s appearance on the list stings for Cowboys fans who still believe the team was too hasty in shipping him out of town prior to the 2022 campaign. The 30-year-old…
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