In more ways than one, CeeDee Lamb is proving to be the Dallas Cowboys‘ most potent playmaker. The first-round rookie wide receiver has established himself as a dual-threat, contributing on offense and special teams as Dallas’ primary punt returner where his dynamism is on full display.
Not unlike a certain franchise legend, according to vindicated owner/general manager Jerry Jones.
“Boy, we just jumped up there and got him. My grandson was sitting right beside me (during the NFL draft) and he was putting his finger on his name and said, ‘production, papa, production. Look at his production.’ Because our man had fallen to us as far as our defensive side of the football, and he said, ‘look at the production,'” Jones said Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan. “Well, with CeeDee, you not only have to look at the production, but you have to look at how he makes plays and his energy. You notice his helmet comes off a lot because of the explosion that is happening in his moves out there. He’s very explosive. He’s explosive at the point of contact. … I don’t know that I’ve seen anybody since Deion Sanders that has that type of sheer step-to-step explosion.
“You couple that with great hand-eye (coordination) and being able to do something like he was able to do in the end zone the other day. All of that we had seen, and that’s all you need to see, when he was at Oklahoma. He changed the course of what we thought we had planned on draft day when he was sitting there with that pick. And we just decided we couldn’t pass a player like that.”
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Spotlighting Week 11 Performance
Lamb was central in Sunday’s upset of the Minnesota Vikings — the difference in the game, you could argue. He finished with four catches for 34 yards and arguably his best grab of the season on a four-yard, body-contorting, physics-defying touchdown.
It vaulted Lamb into Cowboys’ lore; he now has more receptions than any rookie receiver in club history, surpassing the previous record (45) held by Bob Hayes. Through 10 games, Lamb has 48 catches for 629 yards and four TDs.
“CeeDee, he was on one today. Running hard, trying to run guys over. He tried to run a D-lineman over, tried to run a linebacker over…He’s young, but he’s gonna have a hell of a career,” running back Ezekiel Elliott said after the game, via The Athletic.
But, wait, there’s more! Lamb also provided 48 yards on just three punt returns against Minnesota, with a long of 20. Speaking to Jones’ point, he made oncoming defenders look silly in space, dazzling with his footwork and God-gifted movement. To date, he’s handled 17 punts for 143 yards, often gaining field position for the Cowboys’ offense.
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL
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Jerry Jones Compares Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb to Deion Sanders