When CeeDee Lamb fell into the Cowboys' lap with the No. 17 pick, his college head coach says he was selfishly "thankful."
Not only was he happy that his star receiver was headed to an offense surrounded by talented players, but Oklahoma's Lincoln Riley knew Lamb wasn't going to be too far down the road.
"It's always unpredictable with twists and turns," Riley said this week in a virtual interview with DallasCowboys.com, "but I'm thankful that CeeDee got to go to a great organization. He'll play with a really good quarterback and really good offensive staff. He'll have some other weapons around him. So, selfishly we're happy he's only going to be a few hours away from us – both him and Neville."
Yes, Riley has a couple of former players headed just a few hours south from Norman, Okla., to The Star in Lamb and third-round pick Neville Gallimore. In fact, the Cowboys have added four players that went to OU this offseason, along with two veteran free agents: Gerald McCoy and Blake Bell.
But it's obviously Lamb creating the biggest buzz right now as the Cowboys should have arguably the best trio of receivers in the league with Lamb joining Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup.
However, with the unique circumstances surrounding this offseason, Lamb has yet to actually get on the field with his teammates – something Riley expects is weighing on his former receiver.
"He's a great practice player. I think that's why he's continued to improve over the years," Riley said of Lamb. "He enjoys football. He enjoys practice. He's a high-energy guy on the practice field. He's a guy that is going to continue to make himself better and hopefully has that kind of impact on his teammates."
One reason Lamb might enjoy practice is that it doesn't seem to be too difficult for him, at least that's what Riley saw during his time at OU.
"He had a good feel for (the game). Naturally he's a very good player," Riley said. "He's one of those guys that doesn't need a million reps to do things well. He has a great feel for the game. You combine that with great physical skills and you get the kind of player that he is."
"We're thrilled for him. He's made a lot of big plays around here over the years and he's made a lot of big plays already at AT&T Stadium, so I'm sure that will continue."
