DALLAS – Wide receiver was seen as the biggest strength for the Dallas Cowboys heading into last season — and for good reason. Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, and Michael Gallup was as good of a trio as there is in the NFL.

Gallup suffered multiple injuries last season, so we did not really get the full experience with the three on the field together. That is especially true since Dak Prescott missed the majority of Lamb's rookie season.

Now, Cooper is off to the Browns, Cedrick Wilson signed with the Dolphins, and Gallup is recovering from a late-season ACL tear. It is likely that Gallup will miss the first month-or-so of the 2022 season. That puts even more on the plate for Lamb.

Cowboys fall in WR corps rankings

Dallas is rebuilding its wide receiver corps; therefore, the position has dropped outside of the top-10 in the league, according to Pro Football Focus. PFF ranks the Cowboys' wide receiver unit as the 12th best in the NFL.

The Cowboys sat at No. 2 in last year's preseason rankings at the position. That is a ten-spot drop-off. The losses of Cooper and Wilson are the primary reason why the Cowboys slide down the rankings and into the second-tier at the position.

"The losses of Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson hurt, and they’re the reason Dallas slides just outside of the top 10 on this list," PFF analyst Ben Linsey writes. "But there’s still reason to be excited about this unit."

Linsey points to CeeDee Lamb's talent as a reason to be excited about the group. He also singles out James Washington and rookie Jalen Tolbert.

"CeeDee Lamb could be in for a monstrous 2022 season after raising his PFF grade from 71.6 as a rookie to 84.1 last year," Linsey writes. "He’s joined by Michael Gallup at the top of the depth chart — an underrated X receiver returning from a torn ACL in 2022. Free agent acquisition James Washington and rookie Jalen Tolbert will compete for snaps as the No. 3 receiver and vertical threat in Dallas’ offense."

Overall view of the Cowboys' receivers

It is fair to drop the Dallas Cowboys in the wide receivers corps rankings. It is difficult to gloss over losing talents like Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson. With that said, CeeDee Lamb offers a ton of optimism.

PFF considers the Cowboys to have a tier-two receiver corps. For comparisons sake, the Philadelphia Eagles were ranked No. 4 in the same rankings. That puts the Eagles, who traded for A.J. Brown during the draft, in the elite category.

First-year wideout Jalen Tolbert and veteran free agent pickup James Washington will be forced to carry a lot of the load while Michael Gallup is sidelined. Tight end Dalton Schultz — who is currently in a contract dispute — will also be a key target for Prescott.

It will be a group effort, led by Lamb, out wide. The Dallas Cowboys could very well climb the rankings by season's end.

Featured image via Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports