May 03, 2020
Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports
CeeDee Lamb is going to be a problem for defenses with shrimpy slot corners.
After focusing on the Philadelphia Eagles' draft for the last week, we've been looking around at what the rest of the NFC East did, one team at a time. On Wednesday we started with the cellar-dwelling Washington team. On Friday we covered the Giants. Today we'll look at the Cowboys.
• Pick 17: CeeDee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma: Most were projecting the Cowboys to draft an edge rusher, a cornerback, or a safety, but when Lamb fell into their laps at pick No. 17, he was too good to pass up.
Lamb will join an already very good wide receiving corps that includes Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup, who both topped 1,100 yards in 2019. He was regarded by many (self included) as the best wide receiver in this loaded wide receiver class.
Lamb has great hands, body control, he tracks the ball with ease, strength, YAC ability, toughness, slot-outside versatility, etc etc. If there's one small gripe, it's that he's not a burner, though certainly his speed is fine. I don't know how in the world he fell to 17.
In the Cowboys' offense, with Cooper and Gallup on the outside, Lamb will likely play in the slot initially, where he should be able to bully smaller slot corners.
Opportunities will be there for Lamb to produce immediately, seeing as their slot receiver last season, Randall Cobb, had 55 catches for 828 yards (15.1 YPC) and 3 TDs.
With a still good offensive line, a potentially great receiving trio, a borderline top 10 quarterback in Dak Prescott, and Ezekiel Elliott in the backfield, on paper the Cowboys' offense look like it is going to be very difficult to stop.
• Pick 51: Trevon Diggs, CB, Alabama: Diggs is the younger brother of Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs, and he started out initially at Alabama at receiver before switching to the defensive side of the ball. Here's a little glimpse of Diggs as a receiver and returner early in his Bama career:
At 6'1, 205, with 33" arms he has ideal length for a corner, and he has inside-outside experience. As a former receiver, he has good ball skills (3 INTs and 8 PBUs in 2019).
Some thought Diggs could maybe sneak into the back end of the first round. As such, he's being labeled as another value pick. While Lamb was certainly outstanding value, Diggs' long speed is what rightfully caused him to fall a bit. Pick 51 was an appropriate landing spot for him.
• Pick 82: Neville Gallimore, DT, Oklahoma: Gallimore was thought of an athletic beast who landed at No. 2 in Bruce Feldman's 2019 college football Freaks List (via The Athletic). However, while he had a fast 40 time, overall his Combine performance didn't match the hype.
Gallimore's career production (8.5 sacks) at Oklahoma was underwhelming, and he didn't stand out at the Senior Bowl. The Cowboys have a pair of older DTs in Gerald McCoy and Dontari Poe, so Gallimore does make sense as a player they will look to develop into a more consistent player.
• Pick 123: Reggie Robinson, CB, Tulsa: The Cowboys appear to have a type at corner. Like Diggs above, Robinson is 6'1, 205, and he has good ball skills (3 INT, 13 PBU in 2019). He is at his best in press coverage up at the line of scrimmage, and while his long speed is better than Diggs', Robinson will give up his share of deep balls as a result of over-aggressiveness in press.
Though he comes from a smaller program at Tulsa, Robinson did cover his share of NFL prospects in 2019, when he faced SMU's James Proche, Memphis' Damonte Coxie, and Oklahoma State's Tylan Wallace. If you haven't heard of Wallace or Coxie, you will next draft season. It's also worth noting that all three receivers went over 100 yards against Tulsa in 2019.
Robinson should be a special teamer out of the box for the Cowboys (he had 4 blocked kicks at Tulsa), but he is a project, and could take a year or two to grow into a role in the regular defense.
• Pick 146: Tyler Biadasz, C, Wisconsin: Biadasz is not going to wow anyone athletically, but he helped Jonathan Taylor average over 2,000 rushing yards per season the last three years. He is a smart, nasty center coming from an OL factory who shouldn't take long to acclimate to the NFL. He has a high floor, in that he should at least be a good iOL backup, at a minimum, but his physical limitations should cap his ceiling.
His fit in Dallas is obvious. Travis Frederick retired this offseason, so Biadasz will compete with Joe Looney, and perhaps Connor McGovern, a 2019 third-round pick, for the starting center job. While Biadasz only played center at Wisconsin, there's little reason to think he couldn't also fill in at either guard spot. In other words, if Looney or McGovern beat him out, Biadasz could be a reserve interior offensive lineman.
Interestingly, Biadasz did not make Daniel Jeremiah's final top 150 prospect list. He may be a "media liked him better than the NFL" guy.
• Pick 179: Bradlee Anae, DE, Utah: While I don't believe the selection of Biadasz at pick 146 is the steal it is being made out to be, getting Anae at pick 179 most certainly is.
Anae had 30 sacks over his career at Utah, and 13 sacks in his senior season. He also wrecked the Senior Bowl game, posting 3 sacks, and a QB hit that led to an INT. He lacks ideal length and athleticism, so if you're looking for a speed guy to smoke OTs around the edge, he's not that. However, he's a skilled, violent player with a great motor who should be a contributing rotational defensive end from Day 1.
Had Anae gotten picked early in Round 3, nobody would have batted an eye. I have no idea how he made it to the last pick of the fifth round.
• Pick 231: Ben DiNucci, QB, James Madison: After their first six picks, most of which brought good value, in the seventh round the Cowboys were basically like, "Yeah, we're just going to take someone nobody has ever heard of."
GRADE: Diggs, Gallimore, Robinson, and Biadasz were all solid picks, while Lamb and Anae should have both been drafted far earlier than they were.
A-.
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