Go back and look at any creditable mock draft and try to find one that had the Dallas Cowboys selecting Oklahoma receiver Ceedee Lamb with the 17th pick in the draft.
Find it? No?
It’s not surprising as even the Dallas Cowboys front office was shocked their sixth-ranked player fell into their laps. The selection sent shockwaves through Twitter on opening night and gives new head coach Mike McCarthy an even more electric group of skill players on offense.
Lamb joins quarterback Dak Prescott, running back Ezekiel Elliott and wideouts Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup. What made the trade even more appetizing is the fact, reportedly, Dallas turned down several “worthwhile” trade offers to stay firm and draft Lamb.
It marked the first time they took a receiver in the top round since Dez Bryant in 2010. With players such as Byron Jones and Robert Quinn leaving via free agency, the NFL world stood to watch as the expected pick in many people’s eyes was K’Lavon Chaisson if a top corner was not available.
They had their chance at the LSU product, who fell to 20th to the Jacksonville Jaguars but went with the best-available player approach by taking Lamb.
“Lamb prevailed,” owner Jerry Jones said. “We just didn’t want to miss home. Those trades ultimately are supposed to add another player to be valuable, but we couldn’t trump him. He was just there. He’s a football player. He’s a playmaker. He just earned it.”
Lamb said he had one conversation with the Cowboys during the pre-draft process, at the scouting combine in February.
“I didn’t know they’d take me, but when I saw my phone, it honestly surprised me, Lamb said. “It was everything I dreamed of on that phone call.”
Lamb had two 1,000-yard seasons at Oklahoma and scored 32 touchdowns in 41 games.
“He’s a dynamic football player,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “He carries that alpha status. The ability to play what I refer to as all four positions, inside, outside, move around, create favorable matches as we move into the upcoming season. We want to have the flexibility to move all our perimeter players around. By far we felt he was a dynamic player with the ball in his hands.
The Cowboys have the 51st and 82nd pick in today’s draft.
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