The three-day extravaganza that’s the 2020 NFL Draft commenced on Thursday evening, and the Dallas Cowboys walked into the event (metaphorically speaking) with their minds set on upgrading the defensive side of the football.
The ‘Boys biggest target was C.J. Henderson, and he got nabbed from the draft board early in the first round, going to the Jacksonville Jaguars with the ninth pick. Their back-up plan was K’Lavon Chaisson, a more than able body that would presumably start immediately at defensive end, and used as a pass-rushing threat. Those were the two targets for Dallas’ most significant offseason needs, but CeeDee Lamb out of Oklahoma was still on the board, and he was lauded as the best receiver in the draft by many. Jerry Jones, sitting in his $250 million super-yacht started to chuckle once the Cowboys were on the clock because he knew that he was about to draft a potential transcendent receiver.
Although Lamb got drafted after his only competition at his position in Henry Ruggs (12th to the Las Vegas Raiders), and Jerry Jeudy (15th to the Denver Broncos), he’s considered by many to be the No. 1 receiver, and the undoubted superior homerun threat.
“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 a lost for words.”
Via: Clarence E. Hill Jr. of the Star-Telegram.
Lamb will enter an offense that closely resembles the offense that he’s played in for three years at the University of Oklahoma, under head coach Lincoln Riley. Dallas featured the No. 1 offense in the NFL last season with a 4,900-yard passer in Prescott, to pair with a 1,400-yard rusher in Ezekiel Elliot, and two 1,000-yard receivers in Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup. When you throw Lamb in that mix, he takes Dallas’ offense to an untouchable level.
Like the Sooners, Dallas’ defense is what ultimately held them back last year. Playcalling on the offensive end was a huge problem too, but that should be a thing of the past with their new head coach Mike McCarthy being a more liberal play-caller than Jason Garrett.
Dallas’ defense isn’t deplorable like CeeDee’s college team, but it looks like an NFL version of the same team Lamb came from. The Cowboys decided to take their chances by taking the best player on the board, instead of getting what they needed. They’re hoping that the second round will present a steal from the defensive end position to supplement the loss of Robert Quinn to free agency, and they’re hoping the same for the cornerback position.
Let’s see how lucky they’ll get with their second and third-round picks, but does this first-round pick scream generational great?
Yahoo!!!!