The Mike McCarthy era kicked off at the 2020 NFL Draft with major fireworks. With the 17th overall pick in the NFL Draft the Dallas Cowboys had the option to pick a boom or bust pass rusher in K’Lavon Chaisson, a cornerback they were high on in A. J Terrell, or the best wide receiver in the draft. The pass rusher and the cornerback would fill the most immediate needs. Wide receiver, although a position of need with Cedrick Wilson being the third player on the depth chart, is a position that could have been addressed in the following rounds due to the WR depth in this year’s draft. Much to the surprise of many Cowboys fans, the team opted to choose the best player available according to their board, WR CeeDee Lamb of Oklahoma. This was a pleasant surprise for many fans. Not only is CeeDee Lamb an exciting player, but the decision to draft him marks a major change from the philosophy of the previous regime. A regime that failed to compete for a championship during the full decade that Jason Garrett was at the helm.
For those Cowboys fans who are disappointed that the Cowboys passed on defensive help at DT, DE, S, or CB, here is a reminder of the kind of player that they acquired in CeeDee Lamb.
More importantly, the Dallas Cowboys new regime showed that they will not pass up on a dynamic player to fill a perceived bigger need like the Cowboys did in previous years with selections like Taco Charlton or Tyrsten Hill. CeeDee Lamb is no guarantee to become an All-Pro WR. In fact, no draft pick is guaranteed success in the NFL. The simple fact is that if the Cowboys stick to their guns and draft the better player every single time, chances are they will have more success acquiring better players and therefore become a better team for the future.
Tomorrow night, the second and third rounds of the NFL draft present opportunities for the Dallas Cowboys to address some more positional needs while possibly targeting the best player available with pick #51. Here is a list of potential targets for the Cowboys in round 2:
- CB: Kristian Fulton (LSU), Trevon Diggs (Alabama)
- DT: Justin Madubuike (Texas A&M), Marlon Davidson (Auburn), Ross Blacklock (TCU)
- DE: A.J Epenesa (Iowa), Yetur Gross-Matos (Penn State), Curtis Weaver (Boise State), Jonathan Greenard (Florida)
- S: Grant Delpit (LSU), Xavier McKinney (Alabama), Antoine Winfield (Minn)
- LB: Zack Baun (Wisconsin), Terrell Lewis (Alabama), Julian Okwara (ND), Josh Uche (Michigan),
- OL: Josh Jones (Houston), Ezra Cleveland (Boise State), Robert Hunt (Louisiana-Lafayette), Lloyd Cushenberry (LSU), Matt Hennessy (Temple)
In conclusion, I am not excited about the Cowboys drafting CeeDee Lamb simply because I believe he is the best WR in the entire draft. I am excited because the Dallas Cowboys opted to draft the player they believe was the best player on their board and did not hesitate to do so.
*Photo by Brett Elliott https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/