What’s that they say? “Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than smart.” That’s probably how the Dallas Cowboys feel — or at least should feel — after securing Oklahoma football wide receiver CeeDee Lamb with the 17th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
The player many NFL experts rated as the second best wide receiver available in this year’d draft is returning to the state where he played high school football, even if it is 260-some miles north of his hometown in Richmond, Texas, near Houston.
The Oklahoma consensus All-American told 105.3 The Fan in Dallas that he was surprised when the call came from Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on Thursday night.
"“Honestly, I couldn’t see this coming,, but I’m glad it did” Lamb said. “I didn’t really have much conversation with them (the Cowboys). I met with them in February at the draft (combine). Other than that, there wasn’t really much conversation going on between us.”"
"17 CeeDee Lamb Wide Receiver Oklahoma"
If Lamb was surprised, that made two of them because the Cowboys were definitely surprised that the highly touted OU receiver was still available by the time Dallas was on the clock midway through the opening round.
In preparing for this year’s draft, — which this year for the first time is being conducted via virtual means out of the homes of everyone involved because of health and safety concerns associated with the coronavirus pandemic — the Cowboy brain trusts had Lamb graded as the No. 6 overall player on their draft board.
In several mock drafts conducted by Dallas draft personnel in advance of the draft, the Sooners’ leading receiver this past season never fell as far as the 17th pick.
Lamb was actually the third wide receiver taken on the first day of the 2020 draft. Alabama receivers Henry Ruggs III and Jerry Jeudy were the 12th and 15th overall picks, falling to the Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos, respectively.
By the time Dallas’ selection came around, about two hours into the opening round, the Cowboy brass had narrowed the selection down to two players: Lamb and LSU linebacker and edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson.
With Dallas having more immediate needs on defense than on offense, Jerry Jones told Jon Machota, who covers the Cowboys for The Athletic, that they gave serious thought to selecting Chaisson, but that would mean walking away from the best player remaining on their board.
"“I don’t mind telling you it was a serious thought,” the Cowboys’ owner said. “It was a key point to think about going in that direction. All of our group really spoke to it.“But as much as we thought of him (Chaisson), and we thought a lot of him, CeeDee just took the day.”"
Note: Chaisson went three spots later, to the Jacksonville Jaguars, as the 20th overall pick.
Lamb is very familiar with AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where he will play on Sundays with the Cowboys. He played in three Big 12 championship games there, all Oklahoma wins. He had eight catches for 173 yards in the Sooners’ 30-21 win over Baylor last December to capture OU’s fifth consecutive Big 12 crown.
In three seasons at Oklahoma, Lamb was credited with 173 receptions for 3,292 yards and 32 touchdowns. He is the only OU receiver with 24 career catches of at least 40 yards and six career games of at least 160 receiving yards. For his career, he averaged 19.0 yards per catch.
The selection of Lamb will help Dallas replenish a receiving corps that lost Randall Cobb to free agency in the offseason and gives quarterback Dak Prescott another intermediate and deep threat to complement Amari Cooper.
Dallas’ top 2020 draft pick revealed to 105.3 The Fan that he will wear the No. 10 Cowboys jersey.
"“Yeah, we’re rocking No. 10 this year…yes sir,” Lamb said with an obvious tone of excitement in his voice."
Give the Cowboys’ a grade of A- for the selection of the All-American receiver from Oklahoma.
Lamb’s selection is a win-win-win — a definite win for the Dallas Cowboys, a win for Lamb who gets the opportunity to play professionally close to home in his home state, and to Sooner fans who get to see their former star wide receiver play for the NFL team closest to Norman.