Here’s Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson’s take on Cowboys drafting CeeDee Lamb
Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson has been a lifelong fan of the Dallas Cowboys and he had the typical fan reaction to the team using the 17th overall pick on Oklahoma wide receiver CeeDee Lamb on Thursday night.
Tomlinson understood the pick given Lamb’s talent as arguably the top receiver in the 2020 class, but also had questions about whether the Cowboys would’ve been better off using the pick to address defensive needs.
The Cowboys need help at defensive end and could have gone with LSU’s K’Lavon Chaisson, who went 20th to the Jaguars, or possibly addressed linebacker depth with Oklahoma’s Kenneth Murray, who went 23rd to the Chargers.
“I understand the pick just because CeeDee is super talented and it’s hard to pass up on a kid like that who could become an elite talent in this league,” said Tomlinson, the former TCU great who is now an NFL Network analyst. “At the same time, I recognize there are more pressing needs out there. The draft is not over, so I don’t know what they’re going to do going forward. But with that first pick sometimes I feel like you’ve got to upgrade that defense.
“I know maybe it was too early for the Oklahoma linebacker Murray that we [the Chargers] ended up getting a little bit later but, man, who knows what’s going to happen with [Leighton] Vander Esch and you could always use another pass rusher.”
Vander Esch underwent offseason neck surgery after missing the final seven games last season. And Tomlinson pointed to the uncertainty facing the Cowboys pass rush depth with Robert Quinn bolting in free agency, and the team hoping both Randy Gregory and Aldon Smith are reinstated.
“We don’t know if those kids [Gregory and Smith] are going to be eligible to come back off the suspended list,” Tomlinson said. “But, at the end of the day, it’s more firepower for Dak Prescott.
“I grew up a Cowboys fan, I’ve always been a Cowboys fan, but I find myself sometimes going back to when I was a kid — you get so frustrated sometimes with your favorite team but, all in all, I think it’s going to work out. You can’t go wrong with CeeDee at the end of the day.”
This story was originally published April 24, 2020 at 6:26 PM.
