(Photo: AP News)
10. CeeDee Lamb: Football is officially upon us! The preseason has kicked off, a new Hall of Fame class has been enshrined in Canton, Ohio, and I’ve done my college division previews along with my NFL division previews as well. Now, one project remains and it’s become popular amongst the supporters of the brand. My annual “Best In The Business” project is here! As many of you know, this is where I countdown my ten best players in the NFL today. The first player I’m about to introduce was a star in college at Oklahoma and I was wondering if would he be able to have the same success in the NFL. CeeDee Lamb is making his debut on the list and has claimed the tenth spot on my list and he’s my second-ranked Wide Receiver entering the 2024 season.
I remember his days in college with the Oklahoma Sooners as he established himself as one of the best receivers in the nation. The Cowboys drafted him with the 17th overall pick in the 2020 draft hoping he would become that number one Wide Receiver for Dak Prescott and this offense. They would end up trading Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns because they had a receiver waiting to blossom. CeeDee put together a stellar season in 2022 and was even better in 2023. He’s what I refer to as a smooth route runner meaning when he breaks out, it looks effortless to him. With the football in his hands, he’s so explosive with that quick twitch and burst which allows him to turn a small game into a large chunk play. CeeDee knows how to maneuver himself around a defender and doesn’t even mind being physical and running through defenders. Many of you have heard me say some receivers turn into Running Backs in the open field and that can be applied to CeeDee here as he has no issues at all stiff-arming guys attempting to tackle him. I always notice he’s finding ways to get open. Or should I say he’s always open? A perfect example of this is a game last December against the Detroit Lions. Detroit sent the blitz at Dak, but he was able to elude it, threw it down the field, and found a wide-open Lamb who did the rest and scored a touchdown. CeeDee finished that game with a career-high 232 yards receiving. His ability to track the ball before making the catch is what stands out to me. I like how he fights for the extra yards. You could think you have him down, but he’ll find a way to keep moving.
He’s silenced everyone who’s said he didn’t have what it takes to be a number one receiver. These last two years should say otherwise. Also, you can’t come to Dallas and be a slouch wearing the number 88. Drew Pearson, Michael Irvin, and Dez Bryant all wore the coveted number before CeeDee and they’ve all panned out well if you ask me. He’s Dak’s go-to guy in the passing game for a reason. All Dak has to do is find him and 88 will take care of the rest.
