Dallas Cowboys: 18 shocking/important/record-breaking numbers to know
By Danny Hill
A lot happens over the course of a football game. Here are some numbers from the Dallas Cowboys games you may have missed.
55 – The number of years it took before a Dallas Cowboys rookie receiver broke “Bullet” Bob Hayes’ franchise record for receptions in a season by a rookie.
Hayes’ rookie season was in 1965 and even with the league’s dramatic shift to the pass over the last two decades, no rookie has been able to match Hayes’ 46 receptions. That is, until CeeDee Lamb passed him Sunday afternoon.
This really makes Hayes’ record remarkable. He played in a time when passing was not the focal point of an offense, and he played in an era where a season was only 12 games. In all these years Dallas Cowboys rookie wide receivers have had 240 more game minutes than Hayes’ had in that ’65 season, and yet no rookie has been able to catch him.
CeeDee Lamb passed Hayes’ in just 10 games. CeeDee may be about to set a Cowboys rookie record that will never be broken. ESPN currently projects Lamb to finish with 77 receptions, 1,006 yards (which also beat Hayes’ current rookie record of 1,003 yards) and 6 touchdowns (which would miss Hayes’ franchise rookie record of 12).
Before Dak went down, CeeDee was an early contender for Offensive Rookie of the Year. While that probably will not happen, he is still one of the most exciting rookies of the entire draft, and Dallas is so glad that he fell all the way to them.
CeeDee currently leads all Dallas receivers in touchdown catches with 4, and also leads in receptions of 20+ yards with 13, 5 ahead of Amari Cooper who has 17 more catches than Lamb.
Michael Gallup may want a large contract this offseason given the production he has put up as a third-round draft pick, and Lamb’s production may make it easier on the front office to let Gallup leave in free agency and spend that money elsewhere.