Faster, stronger, more studious CeeDee Lamb excelling for Dallas Cowboys in second year
CeeDee Lamb lived up to his first-round pedigree during his 2020 rookie season.
But he knew improvements were needed headed into his sophomore campaign and that work started in the offseason.
“I kind of made it mandatory that I was going to be a lot different than I was last year, whether that was catching the ball, blocking or foot speed,” said Lamb, who has 348 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 24 catches through five games. He’s on pace to surpass the 935 yards and five scores on 74 receptions from a year ago.
“I feel like I gave a lot of consideration to that this offseason, took a lot of pride in working on myself, my body and getting faster,” he said.
The offseason workout improvements coupled with having a year’s experience under his belt have helped Lamb become one of the more explosive offensive threats in the league.
“I feel a lot faster, stronger. [I’ve] kind of adjusted to the game a little bit,” he said. “But it’s [also] just going in and trying to be as prepared throughout the week as I possibly can, know as much about my opponent or the guy that’s my matchup. Try to get into the details and see what he does good and what he does bad.”
Lamb’s attention to detail as a rookie impressed Amari Cooper, who remembers Lamb watching tons of film a year ago.
“Maybe he’s doing even more,” Cooper said. “He’s a more experienced player. He’s a smarter player. He’s a more patient player. That’s the biggest difference. He’s just more patient. When you’re a rookie in this league, you want to put up big numbers, huge numbers and sometimes you put the cart before the horse to do that. Now he understands that you just have to let the game come to you.”
Quarterback Dak Prescott said Lamb is bigger and more physical than a year ago, and his versatility has allowed the Cowboys to use him more effectively.
“He’s just a whole lot more knowledgeable. The experience always helps,” Prescott said. “He’s bigger, he’s playing more physical. Just being able to line up anywhere. Last year he was majority in the slot. It has allowed him to attack the defenses and for us to use him however we need to.”
