The Dallas Cowboys have two top-10 wide receivers according to ESPN’s latest positional rankings, and the fact that George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb landed at Nos. 6 and 7, respectively, says more about the 2026 season than any preseason depth chart ever could. ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler polled more than 70 anonymous NFL scouts, coaches, and executives to rank the top 10 players at each position. On Wednesday, wide receivers got the spotlight, and Dallas unsurprisingly placed two names on the list.

The positioning alone is revealing.

A quick note

First of all, what caught my eye beyond the final rankings was the range. Lamb’s highest individual ranking was third. Pickens’ was fifth. And for both players, at least one voter left them off the list entirely. If you ask me, those voters have got to be removed from Fowler’s list ahead of next year. But we’re not here to discuss that. 

Listen, I kind of understand having Pickens unranked as the lowest vote. Now, I don’t think I would have done it. I can’t list 10 wide receivers right now who are better than Pickens. But I understand if you want to attack it from the angle of needing to see it again, or questioning whether one elite season makes a trend. With Lamb, though? I just don’t understand it. Lamb is clearly one of the best wide receivers in the game, and a player who dictates coverages every single week (and has for a good while).

Pickens and Lamb ranked almost the same

Here’s what matters the most from the ESPN rankings, though. Lamb got sixth place while Pickens sat at seventh. That’s right, the NFL sees them almost exactly the same. This isn’t necessarily surprising, but it is telling.

Cowboys fans and media members spent all of 2025 debating who the No. 1 wide receiver on this team was. Lamb set the tone early when Pickens was traded to Dallas, saying he didn’t want to be the No. 1 while Pickens was the No. 2. He said it clearly: they are co-No. 1 wide receivers.

At the time, I thought there was no way Lamb truly believed that. I figured he was being a good teammate to the new kid in town. But it became pretty difficult to argue Pickens wasn’t the top option at times, because he absolutely was.

A lot of that had to do with Lamb dealing with an early-season ankle issue that resulted in his worst statistical season since his rookie year. He still put up 1,077 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 14 games. Pickens, meanwhile, posted 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns in 17 games. In first downs, Pickens bested Lamb 73 to 43. Advanced metrics like EPA and success rate painted the same picture: Pickens was one of the best wide receivers in all of football.

A race for Cowboys bragging rights

All of this sets up a compelling race, and I don’t want to make it sound like an unfriendly competition. These two get along well. But the bragging rights battle is real, and the financial implications make it matter beyond the stat sheet.

Pickens is 25. Lamb is 27. Dallas will face a decision on Pickens next offseason, whether that means a franchise tag or a long-term extension. Lamb’s contract voids in 2029, but he carries only $7 million in guaranteed salary for 2027 and zero guaranteed money in 2028. You have to wonder how much this season’s production influences the front office’s thinking down the road.

If both players stay healthy for a full 17-game slate, who emerges as the statistical leader? Pickens was better in every major category in 2025, but Lamb is the one with the big-money deal, the longer rapport with quarterback Dak Prescott, and the history of drawing double coverage. They’re going to feed each other. If Pickens absorbs the extra attention, Lamb thrives, and vice versa.

For now, the NFL sees them as nearly identical wide receivers. The real question is whether Year 2 of Pickens working with Prescott produces the kind of results that force some surprise decision-making for the Cowboys in the not-so-distant future.