Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb says new offense ‘all in Dak’s hands,’ warns rest of NFL of QB’s potential in 2023

The Dallas Cowboys hype machine runs on overdrive every year like clockwork. However, 2023 might be different. Seriously. They return a top-five defense, and head coach Mike McCarthy has taken the reins from the departed Kellen Moore, a shift that has everyone with the Silver and Blue fired up. While there are plenty of “added twists” to the Cowboys offensive playbook that will stay about “70 percent-ish” the same, one of the most impactful tweaks has been Prescott’s involvement in the play-calling, something that has been developing since last season. 

“All the offense is in Dak’s hands now,” All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb said Monday on 105.3FM The Fan. “It’s not necessarily, you know, being called from Mike or Kel since last year. But now it’s all on Dak, however he’s feeling versus the coverage. If he likes the matchup we’re gonna call that play. If he likes whatever he likes versus zone he’s gonna call that play. So technically it’s all in Dak’s hands.”

The offense under former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore wasn’t broken: It averaged 27.7 points per game across his four seasons (2019-22), the second most in the NFL since 2019 behind only the Chiefs‘ 28.8 points per game. However, Dallas believes there are more layers of high-flying fireworks that can now be unlocked. Prescott wasn’t as assertive throwing deep in 2022 — his 7.3 yards per pass attempt were the second-lowest of his seven-year career — but Lamb said Prescott’s confidence in the new scheme, plus the options of throwing to himself, new addition Brandin Cooks and a much healthier Michael Gallup has the quarterback shooting for the stars.

“He’s very aggressive,” Lamb said. “And he’s looking for the deep ball now. And as you [saw at camp on Saturday], it’s up there. So if you’re not gonna back up, this is a warning to everybody, if you’re not gonna back up, good luck.”