The NFL is a passing league, and the Dallas Cowboys added the most dominant pass catcher in the 2020 draft class when they selected Oklahoma wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who was a top-six player on their board, with the 17th overall pick Thursday night.

The only mock drafts that predicted Lamb would be available for the Cowboys in the first round were written in invisible ink. But the unpredictable nature of the NFL draft reared its head, as a near unanimous top-10 prospect fell all the way to No. 17.

The 21-year-old Lamb is an alpha receiver whose game is refined enough to make an immediate impact, and his presence gives the Cowboys one of the most explosive offenses in football on paper.

Lamb was one of the most productive receivers in college football over the last couple of seasons. In Lincoln Riley’s high-powered offense, Lamb accumulated two straight seasons with 60-plus catches, 1,100-plus yards and 11-plus touchdowns.

Lamb isn’t the best athlete, but he maximizes every drop of athleticism he does have. What he lacks in athleticism he makes up for in body control, coordination and an alpha mentality that demonstrates itself in nearly every facet of the game. Nevertheless, Lamb would be wise to add some bulk to his slender frame to better handle the physicality of the NFL.

The Oklahoma product impresses in every aspect of receiver play, possessing skilled route running and dominant ball skills at the catch point.

Lamb benefited from the space provided in Riley’s offense, so he didn’t see a ton of reps against press coverage (faced press coverage just 65 times last season, per Pro Football Focus). When he did, he proved to be effective. Here’s a great example:

He didn't see a ton of press but Lamb has the skills to be effective there in NFL with some exp. Does a great job of mixing tempos to break rhythm & create separation. Love the concise hands to defeat contact + the hard stick inside to create separation as he drifts to the pylon pic.twitter.com/Oz4pHdYjZS — John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 24, 2020

On this play, Lamb displays his ability to mix tempos in an attempt to break the cornerback’s rhythm, as he patiently shimmies inside before accelerating outside with a well-timed club-arm over to deflect and avoid the defender’s jam.

From there, Lamb effectively stacks the cornerback while also executing a hard inside stick before drifting outside to create a ton of separation for an easy touchdown opportunity.

The true beauty in this play are the easily overlooked details that made the play possible and demonstrate why he’s consistently successful at the catch point.

First, pay attention to Lamb’s eyes after he stacks the defender after defeating the jam. Lamb flashes his eyes inside toward the quarterback, influencing the cornerback to lean and drift inside. This allows Lamb to create a lot of separation once he stems back outside.

Second -- and it doesn’t matter much on this rep -- notice how Lamb instinctually tucks the ball and turns away from the defender to create a barrier, thus making it harder for the cornerback to potentially contest the pass. Although Lamb could have gotten away with subpar technique on this rep, good habits tend to carry over to stressful situations, which is why Lamb is so consistently dominant at the catch point (more on that later).

Back-to-back plays are great examples of Lamb using the same release for multiple routes. 1) Lamb crosses faces to get open on a slant but poor throw prevents TD. 2) CB expecting slant so he plays with inside leverage this time, giving Lamb space to win on the back shoulder fade. pic.twitter.com/Vu04iHR6Ys — John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 24, 2020

Moreover, Lamb displays impressive route-running intelligence, displaying a keen understanding of the wide receiver metagame. He will pair releases together with different routes to keep DBs guessing and off-balanced, which is perfectly illustrated in the above clip.

CeeDee Lamb gets Jeff Gladney off-balanced with his release and let's him know about it for the rest of the play. pic.twitter.com/yT5mIFzxt8 — John Owning (@JohnOwning) March 29, 2020

Oddly enough, some of Lamb’s best releases come on run plays, where he routinely “steals a release” by working an initial move against a cornerback in true man coverage. Lamb will then use the information gleaned from that rep to beat that defender in man coverage on a later play, which is a good illustration of Lamb’s impressive football intelligence.

All of these traits are reasons why Lamb’s ability to defeat press coverage should only improve with more seasoning and experience in the NFL.

Love how Lamb uses his eyes to sell the shallow cross, which gets his man to drive forward to carry. Je then shows impresses hips to drop his weight and accelerate out his break to create 5 yards of separation. Love how Lamb stay flat out of his break instead of dripping upfield. pic.twitter.com/fCyIWErOZ2 — John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 24, 2020

Lamb is a refined route runner for his age, using quick pace changes, manipulative footwork and deceptive eyes to get cornerbacks out of position and off-balance at the break point, consistently creating separation against man coverage. Lamb is a puppet master who manipulates, anticipates and takes advantage of a cornerback’s movement patterns in coverage.

He also understands how to use subtle push-offs and physicality to create separation at the top of his routes against tight coverage, which has caused many to appropriately compare his game to DeAndre Hopkins.

Against zone coverage, Lamb has displayed an excellent ability to read leverage and find space and soft spots between zones. In the above clip, pay attention to how Lamb uses pacing and subtlety to sneak behind the hook-curl defender into the vast swath of open space, creating an easy pitch-and-catch for the touchdown.

Lamb’s route running isn’t yet pristine, as he could stand to be more explosive as he accelerates out his breaks, but his route running and ball skills are to a point where he’s ready to contribute from the moment he steps onto the field.

He may not have the electric, field-stretching deep speed, but Lamb’s pacing, ball skills, tracking and ability to create late separation will enable him to have success as a vertical threat in the NFL. Here’s a great example:

Lamb is an alpha at the catch point, showing great ball tracking, impressive ball control, soft hands and an ability to create late separation to consistently be effective in this area.



Love how Lamb actively leans into the DB to give himself space to drift into the catch point. pic.twitter.com/dTkrFM8TpN — John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 24, 2020

Here, Lamb is running a slot-fade route against off coverage. While he does a good job of accelerating off the line of scrimmage to eat up the defender’s cushion, he wins this rep once the ball is in the air.

Notice how Lamb creates space at the catch point by leaning inside with a subtle push before drifting outside and contorting his body to haul in the difficult, contested grab. Also note how Lamb once again made sure to use his body as a barrier between the ball and defender, making it almost impossible for the defender to rip the ball out after Lamb secures the catch.

Lamb’s ball skills are tremendous all around. He possesses some of the best hands in this draft, showing the ability to snag passes inside and outside his frame, above his eyes, below his hips and when contested. He adjusts well to the ball, has great spatial awareness and does well to attack the ball at its highest point.

New #Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb is electric after the catch. Extremely elusive and is a threat to score anytime he touches the ball. pic.twitter.com/VpD4cT89mX — John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 24, 2020

While Lamb’s skills from alignment to catch point are exceptional, he truly separates himself from his peers when the ball is in his hands. Lamb is a playmaker in every sense of the term who consistently makes the first defender miss while creating a ton of yards after the catch. In 2019, Lamb forced 26 missed tackles -- second-most among college receivers -- and accumulated an average of 11 yards after catch (fifth-best), per PFF.

When Lamb gets the ball in his hands, he routinely makes magic happen, which is why -- at a bare minimum -- he should be able to immediately contribute on jet sweeps, bubble screens and shallow crossers.

Lamb can get a little too carried away in dancing to elude defenders and create big plays, but that’s the risk you take with someone as creative and elusive as he in the open field and in tight quarters.

Loved seeing this, Lamb gives the CB a little foot fire then knocks him on his ass with a power two-hand strike. Love to see him compete in the run game. pic.twitter.com/UE1RsAFSDl — John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 24, 2020

Despite his slender build, Lamb does play with physicality, which is best illustrated in the run game. Lamb loves to punish defenders with heavy strikes after getting them off-balance with his initial release (above clip). Moreover, Lamb’s blocking helped spring Oklahoma for some big gains on the ground. Lamb will need to get stronger for his blocking to translate to the NFL, but his willingness to block at Oklahoma is a great sign that he will do what’s necessary to improve there as a pro.

Moreover, don’t be surprised if Lamb contributes in the return game. He proved to be effective when returning punts at Oklahoma, finishing first in the Big 12 in yards per punt return (12.8) in 2018.

One of the few knocks against Lamb is that he consistently took advantage of the subpar cornerbacks in the Big 12 Conference. But Lamb was extremely effective against high-caliber competition. In 2018 against Alabama, which consistently boasts one of the nation’s best secondaries, Lamb posted eight catches for 109 yards and a score. In 2019 against LSU, which had the most talent-rich secondary then, Lamb finished with four catches for 119 yards.

Overall, Lamb projects as the immediate starter at slot receiver in the Cowboys’ offense. While he played primarily outside at Oklahoma, Lamb did produce well when aligned from the slot, as he led the nation in yards per route run (6.11) while also scoring seven of his 14 TDs in 2019 when aligned inside, per ESPN. Lamb should be able to find a lot of early success from the slot, as it will shield him from press coverage by providing him with a two-way go off the line of scrimmage. This should enable him to puppeteer defensive backs with his refined, deceptive and manipulative route-running ability.

Having said that, Lamb has the traits to play any receiver position, so don’t be surprised if head coach Mike McCarthy and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore get creative with their receiver alignments to create and take advantage of mismatches. For example, Lamb’s well-rounded skillset would enable Dallas to play Cooper more in the slot, which would better protect him double teams and No. 1 CBs.

With Lamb, Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup, the Cowboys not only have one of the most talented receiver corps in the NFL, but also one of the youngest. Cooper will be the oldest of the trio at 26 years old when the season (hopefully) starts in September.

The Cowboys may have had bigger needs, but Lamb was simply too good of a prospect to pass up at No. 17, so they added an alpha receiver to Dak Prescott’s impressive stable of weapons.

In today’s NFL, the best defense is a dominant offense, and with Lamb in the fold, the Cowboys project to have one of the most electric units in the league moving forward.

More Round 1 coverage

-- Cowboys select Oklahoma WR CeeDee Lamb with No. 17 overall pick in the NFL draft

-- Points galore? Cowboys hope to be ferocious on offense after drafting CeeDee Lamb

-- When presented with a decision they didn’t expect, the Cowboys chose offense and CeeDee Lamb

-- National reaction: Dez Bryant loves Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb pick; does Dallas have NFL’s best receiver trio?

-- CeeDee Lamb is no stranger to making big plays in Dallas. Here’s a closer look at his impressive track record.

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