Dallas Cowboys: Amari Cooper approves CeeDee Lamb pick

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper approves the CeeDee Lamb pick

When the Dallas Cowboys number was called in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, they found themselves in a great situation. Although they had bigger roster needs, highly-touted Oklahoma wide receiver CeeDee Lamb was still on the board and available.

In recent years, fans have been critical of the Cowboys for often choosing team need and scheme fit over raw talent. The most egregious example being the 2017 NFL Draft when Dallas selected Michigan defensive end, Taco Charlton, over Wisconsin linebacker T.J. Watt in the first round.

Although the team had a second-round grade on Charlton, they believed him to be a better scheme fit over the more talented Watt. Three years later and Charlton is no longer on the Cowboys’ roster while Watt is a two-time Pro Bowler and one of the league’s top pass rushers for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Just last year, the Cowboys drafted UCF defensive tackle Trysten Hill over a talented trio of college safeties with their top pick, a second-rounder. Touted as being the perfect fit for defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli’s scheme, Hill barely saw the field as a rookie playing in just 11 percent of the defensive snaps and recording a total of five tackles. Now, Marinelli is coaching in Las Vegas while Hill faces an unknown future with a new coaching staff in Dallas.

The hiring of a new head coach in Mike McCarthy this offseason shifted the team’s draft focus to a more talent-first approach. So when the Cowboys had to make a choice in the first round this year between need or talent, the went with the latter and drafted Lamb.

The rookie wideout now joins a uber-talented wide receiver corps that includes himself, four-time Pro Bowler Amari Cooper, and the up-and-coming Michael Gallup. Both of which posted 1,000-yard seasons in 2019.

Here’s what Cooper told the media during a video interview on Tuesday when asked about Lamb being drafted in the first round per ESPN.com.

"“I think it was a great pickup. You have to draft the best player on the board. Everybody understands that. He’s a great receiver. I think with me and Michael Gallup going for 1,000 yards last year, the expectation is to have three 1,000-yard receivers this year.”"

Amari Cooper would go on to say that he’s been working with Lamb, whom he called a quick learner who’s already a fundamentally sound route-runner with a good foundation. Only five other teams in NFL history have had three wide receivers post 1,000 receiving yards each in a single season. Cooper is hoping this year, with his approved addition of CeeDee Lamb, the Cowboys will be the sixth.