The Dallas Cowboys made a splash by taking Oklahoma wide receiver CeeDee Lamb with the No. 17 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. It seems not even they thought it was going to come to fruition.
According to Grant Gordon of NFL.com, Cowboys chief operation officer Stephen Jones admits they never figured they would have the chance:
“We thought he was a top-10 pick,” Jones said Thursday night. “We never really thought we had a chance to get him. Every mock draft we did, we had him long gone.”
Jones comments are certainly understandable considering Lamb had been pegged as arguably the best wide receiver on a historically-deep class. He was pegged as part of the “Big 3” prospects that included Alabama's Henry Ruggs and Jerry Jeudy. However, all three fell out of the top-10. Ruggs was the first off the board to the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 12 while Jeudy got picked up by the Denver Broncos at No. 15.
Perhaps the Cowboys should be thankful that team needs appeared to take precedent over the best player available early on. Perhaps the number of receivers to pick from in this class also played a major part in them going late. Regardless, it is clear that they had no intention of passing up on a player of his caliber.
Lamb will be joining a receiving corps that is already heady by Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup. Despite all the firepower in Dallas, the rookie should have a chance to etch out an immediate role for himself in the 2020 NFL season.
