After rookie Wide Receiver CeeDee Lamb surprisingly dropped in the first round and was selected at 17 by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2020 NFL Draft, the expectations immediately went through the roof. Considered by many to be the best receiver coming out of college, Lamb impressed to the point that the staff writers for DallasCowboys.com voted him the best receiver in training camp.
On Sunday in the Cowboys season-opener vs the Los Angeles Rams, Lamb got off to a very solid start to his inaugural NFL season. According to Pro Football Reference, Lamb caught more passes for more yards than every rookie receiver in Week 1. He and Dak Prescott connected on five of six passes (83.3%) for 59 yards.
Lamb himself had high expectations for not only him but also Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup, claiming all three could reach the 1,000-yard mark.
“I think that’s very realistic,” Lamb told Michael Irvin during an interview on NFL Network last month. “That’s definitely what we’re pushing for.”
“We talk about it a lot on the field, just kind of understanding the personnel that we have, the different type of characteristics in each other’s games. Just being like, wow, it’s crazy that I actually ended up here.”
Lamb is definitely off to a good start to make that a reality. His current pace would have him at 944 yards for the season, not too far from 1,000. However, Lamb isn’t satisfied with his Week 1 performance, as he would tell the media postgame Sunday.
“Honestly, I’m not really too pleased with myself or my performance,” Lamb said. I feel like there’s a lot more stuff that I left on the table. I could have played a lot faster. I could have done a lot of things better to be a better option and better target for Dak.”
The good thing for Lamb is that he has 15 more games to improve and get better, which he will, and that’s a scary thought for defenses around the NFL.
