Getty CeeDee Lamb
CeeDee Lamb is on the grind.
With six weeks until training camp tentatively is scheduled to begin, the Dallas Cowboys‘ first-round rookie wide receiver has stayed busy sharpening his craft.
Lamb posted to social media on Tuesday a video of himself running routes in a Cowboys helmet — the first glimpse of the No. 17 overall NFL draft pick rocking the star.
The workout clip went viral on Cowboys Twitter, reaching as far as Jets safety Jamal Adams, a Texas native with an on-the-record desire to return home.
Lamb responded to Adams in kind.
A consensus All-American in 2019, his junior campaign, the 6-foot-2 former Oklahoma stud finished his three-year college career with 173 receptions for 3,292 yards (19.0 yards per catch) and 32 touchdowns. Arguably the top WR in a historically deep class, he wins with gliding 4.5 speed and separation ability that’s been likened to Chad Johnson, DeAndre Hopkins, and even Jerry Rice.
But Lamb’s route-running left a little to be desired, one of his few weaknesses as a professional prospect.
“His routes will need to become more efficient and crisp to beat man-to-man coverage against NFL size and speed, but his ball skills and explosiveness with the ball in his hand should allow teams to scheme him into explosive opportunities right away,” NFL.com draft expert Lance Zierlein noted in his scouting profile.
Lamb, like every NFL rookie, will have to prove himself at the next level. He must show his positional coach, Adam Henry, that he can master the entire route tree. However, based on what we’re seeing, the 21-year-old certainly possesses the work ethic to earn the Cowboys’ trust — and quickly.
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Lamb Details Goal of Becoming Hall of Famer
Lamb is following in the footsteps of Dallas legend Michael Irvin, and the first-year wideout is hoping those steps trace a similar route to Canton.
“Be a Hall of Famer,” Lamb told Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram when asked for his career goals. “Have as much of an impact or more that Michael had on the game and on America’s Team. I want to be on a team that makes unbelievable memories together. I feel like that is what we are going to do here.”
“I can’t wait.”
It’s well documented that Lamb, upon being drafted, assumed jersey No. 88 partly to assuage owner Jerry Jones and partly to carry a tradition set by Irvin, Drew Pearson, and Dez Bryant.
Irvin, inducted into the Hall in 2007, has long had his bust on display. Pearson, a franchise great, is a future candidate for football immortalization. Bryant is one of the best wideouts of this generation.
Lamb realizes the enormity of the task before him, the responsibility of donning these particular digits — and he’s fueled by it.
“That is a legendary number for the legendary America’s team,” he said. “For me to go out there and represent the great legends that have worn that number is a huge presentable moment. I can’t wait to live it out for the first time. I want to continue the legacy of 88. The 88 club is something big in Dallas. I want to live up to it.”
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL