1. CeeDee Lamb, from No. 88 to No. 2
There was already one debacle when it came to CeeDee Lamb and the number he wore with the Dallas Cowboys. The No. 17 overall pick from Oklahoma apparently wanted to wear the No. 10 for Dallas, but then Jerry Jones got involved.
The team owner has a weird affinity for making a player he thinks will be the top receiver wear No. 88. He does this for pass rushers as well with the No. 94, but the wide receiver position has been one he has tried to hand out more often.
Before Lamb, there was Dez Bryant. Before Bryant, there was Michael Irvin (sure a few failed attempts came in between but we won’t worry about that). Before Irvin, there was Drew Pearson and the team even has a weird page dedicated to the number — simply titled “The History of # 88.”
Perhaps it was the way Jerry sold it to him, but Lamb elected not to rock the boat and wore 88 as a rookie. It looked fine on him and he recorded 74 receptions for 935 yards and five touchdowns.
Having said all that, there’s no way Lamb should keep this number in 2021 if these rules pass. Wearing No. 2 looks so much better on him and it’s okay to forget about tradition in Big D — especially since their “tradition” hasn’t brought many wins as of late.
Sure, changing Lamb’s number to 2 won’t necessarily win them games, but anything they do differently from the last 30 years would be a positive change.