Can CeeDee Lamb Help Cowboys Become NFL's No. 1 Offense?

Can The NFL Draft Addition of WR CeeDee Lamb Help the Dallas Cowboys Become NFL's No. 1 Offense? That's The Plan

FRISCO - He didn’t even have a uniform number yet, but CeeDee Lamb’s influence on the Dallas Cowboys offense was felt immediately following his first-round selection Thursday in the NFL Draft.

“Kellen Moore,” said coach Mike McCarthy of his offensive coordinator, “has had a lot of fun the last two days on a few new wrinkles we're looking to work."

That’s not just because of Lamb, of course. But the 17th overall pick in the draft - and Dallas’ sixth-ranked prospect - joins a Dallas offense blessed with big-name talent ...

And big statistical potential.

“You look at the offensive production last year and the number of players returning,” McCarthy said, “and then you add more weapons, it is exciting.”

Privately, owner Jerry Jones has in recent years bemoaned his offense’s inability to match the scoring production of teams like the Rams and Chiefs - and last year specifically, to mimic some of what MVP QB Lamar Jackson did in Baltimore.

McCarthy and staff are in the process of assembling a “best-of” blueprint: The marrying of McCarthy’s West Coast offense from Green Bay, the existing Dallas terminology, the bullishness of Ezekiel Elliott and the running game and the versatility of QB Dak Prescott.

"I think we've got a very unique offense put together between having a really good offensive line, a tight end (Blake Jarwin) who can stretch the middle of the field, the three receivers and then Zeke in the backfield and an athletic quarterback who throws the ball very well," Cowboys COO Stephen Jones said. "(Lamb) makes us dynamic and gives us the opportunity to give people problems when they line up on the other side of the ball to they defend us."

Actually, the 2018 and 2019 Cowboys were capable of that, as evidenced by their status as the NFL’s No. 1 team in yards per game (431.5). But Prescott himself termed some of those “garbage yards.” And while Dallas averaged 27 points per game last year (good for sixth in the league), it did so with wild inconsistencies when it came to crossing the goal line.

Thus, an 8-8 record, a no-playoff finish and a dismissed head coach.

Technically, Oklahoma's Lamb is Dallas' third receiver, behind Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup. So he's just one cog in a wheel that the Jones family believes should be able to outscore foes - a real requirement in today's NFL.

"It's fun to have to score 35 points every game," McCarthy said recently, "but it's hard."

Actually, it's getting closer to being a necessity. And CeeDee Lamb's presence figures to make something "hard'' become that much easier.