Dallas Cowboys shun defensive needs and draft explosive Oklahoma receiver CeeDee Lamb
The Dallas Cowboys came into the 2020 NFL draft looking to fill needs on defense but their main focus was to select the best-available prospect with the 17th overall pick Thursday night.
And with highly-coveted cornerback C.J. Henderson off the board early (ninth to the Jacksonville Jaguars), the Cowboys’ focus was put to the test when it became their time to pick.
LSU defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson was on the board and would fill a huge need for a designated pass rusher following the free agency loss of Robert Quinn and his 11.5 sacks last season.
But the presence of Oklahoma receiver CeeDee Lamb was tempting. He was rated higher on the board and considered by many to be the best receiver in the draft, despite still being available after Alabama teammates Henry Ruggs went to the Las Vegas Raiders at 12 and Jerry Jeudy went to the Denver Broncos at 15.
In the end, Lamb was too much for the Cowboys to ignore.
Team owner Jerry Jones, who was on his luxurious $250 million super yacht with his family, looked downright giddy and a smiling coach Mike McCarthy were ecstatic when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced Lamb as the Cowboys’ pick.
“It was surprising to us to see CeeDee sitting there,” vice president Stephen Jones said. “We went through a lot of mock drafts. He wasn’t a part of any of them. He was a top 10 player in this draft. We thought we would never see him. You always feel challenged and feel stressed about what you need. The right thing to do is always pick the best football player and that’s what we did.”
In no pre-draft scenario did the Cowboys have Lamb falling to them at 17, Stephen Jones said. He was sixth-highest rated player on their draft board.
But Jerry Jones acknowledged that while discussing their first-round game plan earlier in the day, McCarthy told him that if by some chance Lamb was still on the board the coach would want to recast his vote.
The Cowboys started getting antsy about Lamb being available when Ruggs was picked by the Raiders at 12. It was around that time that they were also weighing three trade offers as well as thinking about using the pick on Chaisson.
In the end, Lamb was too much for the Cowboys to ignore.
“It was a serious thought. We talked about it,” Jerry Jones said of Chaisson. “But as much as we thought of him, and we thought a lot, CeeDee just took the day.”
Said Stephen Jones: “CeeDee was a blinking light up there coming at us. You discard the trades and go get the best player.”
Jerry Jones thought he might be taken a pick before by the Atlanta Falcons and a lot of people after them didn’t think the Cowboys would take a wide receiver.
It certainly came as a surprise to Lamb, who talked to the Cowboys at the NFL scouting combine but did not do a virtual pre-draft interview with them.
“I didn’t know they were going to take me,“ said Lamb from his home in Houston. “I had no expectations. I didn’t know what to expect. I was lost for words.”
The Cowboys had a greater need on defense, but adding Lamb to a Cowboys offense that already top-ranked in the NFL last season with a 4,900-yard passer in quarterback Dak Prescott, a 1,400-yard rusher in running back Ezekiel Elliott and a pair of 1,000-yard receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup is downright delicious.
Never mind that the Cowboys just gave Cooper a five-year, $100 million contract extension, the Cowboys decided to go all in and strengthen the strongest part of their team.
A first-team All-American and a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, Lamb caught 62 passes for 1,327 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2019.
Lamb was the top big-play threat in the draft as his 21.4 yards per reception ranked third in FBS in 2019. Of his 62 receptions, 26 of them went for at least 20 yards.
And he is most dangerous after the catch and making defenders miss, forcing 31 missed tackles in 2019, the most by any FBS wide receiver, and his 11.1 yards after the catch also were the most of any receiver in the draft this season with a minimum of 50 catches.
“It was a great example of staying true to our board,” McCarthy said. “The staff did an incredible job of just being disciplined and drafting the best player. We just felt like we took the best player on the board and he’ll be very dynamic for our offense. We’re very blessed, very happy to have him.”
Of course, the Cowboys love Lamb’s explosiveness but they also like his versatility in being able to play all four wide receivers positions, and not just be a replacement for the departed Randall Cobb in the slot.
Lamb, who grew up in Houston and watched the draft there with his family, can’t wait to head to up Interstate 45 to his new home.
“I’m very comfortable in the slot,” Lamb said. “I’m very versatile, and I can’t wait to be out there. I feel comfortable at all positions on the field. I feel like I add a lot of things with being a great receiver. The Cowboys are definitely going to get the most out of me in every game and every practice. I can’t wait to do it.”
Look for them to renew their focus on defense in the second and third rounds on Friday.
The selection of Lamb came on a somber night for the Cowboys family after it was learned that Prescott’s older brother Jace Prescott passed away Thursday morning at the age of 31.
This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 9:37 PM.
