Overview
Position: Wide Receiver
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 191 pounds
School: Oklahoma Sooners
Combine Performance Data
40-yard dash: 4.50 seconds
Bench press: 11 reps
Vertical jump: 34.5 inches
Broad jump: 10 feet, 4 inches
CeeDee Lamb 2020 NFL Draft Profile
If you’re a top prospect and played your high school ball in Texas, it tends to enhance your worth to college coaches given the quality of play in that state. And CeeDee Lamb, who starred at Foster High School in Richmond, TX, had his fair share of suitors. 14 Power Five programs offered him scholarships, including the perennial juggernaut that is Alabama. But he felt Oklahoma was the best fit and was one of the last players Bob Stoops recruited before retiring after the 2016 season.
Over the course of his college career, Lamb would catch passes from three players who went on to receive an invite to the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York City. Two of them, Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, would go on to win the prestigious award in consecutive years. He immediately established a rapport with Mayfield as a true freshman. That year, he went on to catch seven touchdown passes on 807 yards receiving which were second and third on the team respectively. He even threw a touchdown pass to Mayfield on a trick play in arguably the greatest Rose Bowl ever played, a game the Sooners narrowly lost 54-48 in overtime to Georgia.
The following season, Lamb formed a formidable one-two punch in Oklahoma’s receiving corps with eventual 2019 first-round pick Marquise Brown. The tandem accounted for 2,476 combined yards and 21 touchdowns, 11 of which were caught by Lamb which led the team. Finally, as a junior, he became Jalen Hurts‘ go-to guy in the Alabama transfer’s lone year in Norman. Lamb totaled 1,327 yards and made 14 touchdown catches, both of which were top-10 among FBS receivers. It was a great way to close out his college career before declaring for the pros as he ultimately earned the distinction of playing in the College Football Playoff in each of his three seasons with the Cream and Crimson.
Strengths
- boasts quite a few ideal physical characteristics from an overall frame standpoint;
- can haul in contested balls in traffic;
- has no problem making defenders miss tackles once the ball is in his hands;
- will be legitimate playmaking threat on jet sweeps and end arounds;
- solid reactive athleticism enables him to quickly adjust to the flight of passes;
- plenty of experience lining up outside the numbers and in the slot;
- uncannily slippery in breaking tackles;
- stats suggest impressive year-over-year improvement during college career;
- not afraid to mix it up from a physicality standpoint when it comes to blocking;
- was one of nine FBS receivers to average over 20 yards per catch in 2019;
- big-play potential on special teams.
Weaknesses
- a little light for his size – will need to bulk up a bit;
- needs to expand his route-running repertoire;
- route transitions could use more sharpness;
- not the most explosive off the snap;
- could initially have issues separating from press man.
NFL Comparison: Calvin Ridley
Teams With Need at Position: Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins
Projection: middle of the first round
Bottom Line
Lamb’s play in 2019 was among the more impressive sights to behold among college wide receivers. For that reason, most draft analysts expect Roger Goodell to call his name at some point on day one of the draft. In fact, if he aces the Combine, it’s possible he could climb into the top 10. After all, quite a few teams who pick early need to help their quarterback by bolstering their receiving corps. As of right now, it would appear that Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy will be the first wideout off the board. But Lamb will follow soon thereafter. And whichever team gets him should be confident that he can compete for starter-level reps right off the bat.
