Cowboys Country

Cowboys 1st & 10: My Oklahoma 'Jackpot' Night With Lamb & Gallimore

In this post-NFL Draft edition of First and 10, I give you some insight on two of the newest Dallas Cowboys, courtesy of scouting their game with Houston last year: "My Oklahoma Night With CeeDee and Neville'' ...

Matthew Postins

In this post-NFL Draft edition of First and 10, I give you some insight on two of the newest Dallas Cowboys, courtesy of scouting their game with Houston last year: "My Oklahoma Jackpot Night With CeeDee and Neville'' ...

1) WHAT YOU’RE GETTING IN CEEDEE LAMB AND NEVILLE GALLIMORE

Along with writing about the Dallas Cowboys, I write about college football for the College Football America Yearbook (give our book a look today. We are planning on having a 2020 book, even with everything going on). In addition, I cover the Big 12 for HeartlandCollegeSports.com, an independent Big 12 site. So, naturally, during football season I’m on the road quite a bit, and there are times I’m able to combine what I do for the College Football America Yearbook and HeartlandCollegeSports.com while I’m working. And, when the synergy really takes hold, it helps my work here for Mike Fisher and the 75-person staff.

So, on the first weekend of the 2019 college football season, I caught two of the Cowboys’ first three draft selections — wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and defensive tackle Neville Gallimore.

And I can tell you this — the Cowboys hit the jackpot with both of them.

CeeDee Lamb
Oklahoma wide receiver CeeDee Lamb :: Matthew Postins/College Football America Yearbook

Let’s start with Lamb, because most of us that follow college football knew who he was going in to the 2019 season. Lamb was coming off a true sophomore season in which he caught 65 passes for 1,158 yards (82.7 per game) and led the Sooners with 11 touchdown receptions. He was a known quantity in the Big 12 and in college football. By the end of 2019 Lamb had 62 receptions for 1,327 yards and 14 touchdowns. The yards and touchdowns were career highs. He was a consensus All-American (earned first-team honors from AP, FWAA, Sporting News and Walter Camp Foundation), a second-team AFCA All-American, a unanimous first-team All-Big 12 selection by the league’s coaches and media, along with a Biletnikoff Award and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award finalist.

Against Houston, the night I watched him from the sideline, he only caught two passes for 46 yards and a touchdown. But, in a 49-31 win over the Cougars, one in which the Sooners used new quarterback Jalen Hurts as a blunt instrument to salt the game away, Lamb didn’t need to be superhuman.

But, even that night, I could see what the Cowboys probably see in him. One of the great things about Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley and his offensive scheme is that he’s not wedded to using players in a particular place. From the start of that game, Riley lined up Lamb in different places — outside, inside and even behind the line of scrimmage. Riley would deploy him on short, intermediate and long routes, both on the edge and across the middle. The versatility stuck out in my mind. That ability to use a receiver in different ways, and not dedicate him to a particular X, Y or Z, can be critical in keeping defenses on edge in the NFL.

Lamb struck fear in the hearts of Big 12 defensive coordinators. And even when they dedicated extra resources to stop him, they found it difficult. Plus, I saw the intangibles that night. Lamb is a willing blocker. He may not be the best blocker, but he’s willing to do it. He’s a punt return man, too. But all the physical gifts you’ve heard about the past few days? They were all on display that night in Norman. I was impressed. I knew he would be a first-round pick. I just didn’t know he would end up in Dallas.

Neville Gallimore
Oklahoma DL Neville Gallimore :: Matthew Postins/College Football America Yearbook

Gallimore was less of a known quantity. He was coming off a fine season in Norman in 2018. In the offseason, the Sooners wanted him to be more, asking him to get stronger and quicker so he could crash the back of the line of scrimmage more often. When we talked with Riley at 2019 Big 12 Media Days he was absolutely thrilled with the progress Gallimore had made.

When the Cowboys took him on Friday, Riley was understandably thrilled and said many of the same things about Gallimore that he said all season.

So I was really interested in seeing Gallimore that night in Norman because Riley had hyped him up so much. Coaches do that, of course, so I watched with a skeptical eye.

I’ve used this word when it comes to Gallimore, and when I look back it still works — relentless. There is no quit in his engine. Play after play, it didn’t matter if he was single-teamed or double-team — and Houston did both — he found a way to make something happen.

One play in particular stood out. Lined up off the left shoulder of the center, Gallimore showed that quick first step and crashed the line of scrimmage. Houston’s quarterback at the time was D’Eriq King, one of the fastest quarterbacks you’ll find in the college game. Gallimore nearly had him, but King was just quick enough to elude Gallimore and move to his right and into the open field.

The thing is, Gaillmore wasn’t done. He turned on his motor and gave chase. He didn’t catch King, but he made him uncomfortable enough to force King to run more toward the sideline instead of upfield. From there, Gallimore was able to herd him into his waiting teammates, including linebacker Kenneth Murray.

That’s the kind of high-effort player the Cowboys are getting. He doesn’t give up just because the ball carrier gets away from him. He gives chase and doesn’t give up. I know that sounds like a given when we talk about football players, but it’s not always the case. That quickness and speed in a player of his size is special.

I came away from that night thinking Gallimore had the potential to be a Day 2 guy in the NFL, if only because teams don’t necessarily value interior tackles the way they do other positions. To make it into the first round as an interior tackle, you either have to be a massive 3-4 nose tackle or a 4-3 tackle that can get upfield consistently. Gallimore has the potential to be more of the latter (and he was productive at OU), but he isn’t quite there yet when it comes to the NFL, which is to be expected.

When I think about this Sooners draft class for 2020, I think the Cowboys came away with two of the Top three. Getting Murray, of course, would have been a royal flush-type of draft.

But, as we watch these two develop in 2020 and beyond, I’m reminded of what I saw that night in Norman and thinking to myself, ‘These guys have the potential to be special.’ The fact that they both get to do it in Dallas is just incredible.

2) JERRY’S DRAFTING FROM A YACHT? BECAUSE, OF COURSE

Some of the best sport of this NFL Virtual Draft was checking out NFL coaches, general managers and owners at home. Heck, we even got a look at the commissioner’s pad. And, well, let’s just say Roger Goodell’s dad would be proud.

But we had a lot of fun with it. We saw Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s obscenely sleek pad in Paradise Valley, Arizona. We saw Bucs head coach Bruce Arians out on his lanai (that’s what they call porches in Florida). We saw the hunting lodge chic of Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer. We saw Denver president John Elway’s three Super Bowl trophies. And, of course, New England head coach Bill Belichick’s dog just flat stole the show on Day 2 of the draft in Nantucket.

But where was Jerry Jones, owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys? I just assumed he would be in his mansion. I mean, where else is he going to draft, right? Well, when we got the live shot of Jones on Thursday, I sat there and stared at it and said to myself, ‘That’s his living room? That is not what I was expecting.’

Turns out, it was his living room. It was just the living room on his yacht.

Even Houston defensive lineman J.J. Watt couldn’t resist commenting.

Yes, J.J., Jerry was on a yacht because, well, it’s Jerry. That’s what he does. Which makes me wonder where it was dry-docked, because you know that thing wasn’t just sitting in Lake Ray Hubbard. (P.S.: Fish reports that Jerry's yacht was off the Florida coast, somewhere between Miami and the Bahamas.)

Our Richie Whitt wrote about the ultimate Day 1 virtual draft flex in his weekly Whitt’s End column, which you can read right here.

By the way, some of the best reactions to the Commish’s first two days moderating the virtual draft?

And, yes we give the Commish a hard time. But, on Day 3, rocking a T-shirt, he said he was spending the day putting in window screens around the house and preparing to auction off watching a Monday Night Football game from his man cave, all in the name of charity.

3) THE COWBOYS WERE DEFINITELY ‘LIVING RIGHT’

Every year we go through draft scenario after draft scenario, including a myriad of trade options that teams like the Dallas Cowboys might consider. But, sometimes, the best thing you can do is stay put and see what happens.

That’s what happened on the first two days of the NFL Draft. ‘Trader Jerry’ didn’t come out of hiding to try and make something flashy happen. Flashy dropped to him and the Cowboys in the first round in the form of CeeDee Lamb. And then the Cowboys took care of needs with two players they considered taking in the second round — Trevon Diggs and Neville Gallimore — and after taking Diggs they still took Gallimore in the third.

Was it luck? Serendipity? Superstition? All three? The Cowboys couldn’t believe their luck. And our Mike Fisher had the story after Day 2.

4) COWBOYS UNDRAFTED FREE AGENTS

On Saturday, once the draft was complete, our famous 75-Person Staff started gathering up all of the undrafted free agent signings of the Dallas Cowboys. Here’s the tracker so you can follow along.

5) COWBOYS DRAFT VIDEO

Our Bri Amaranthus was filing video all weekend on the newest Dallas Cowboys. A round-up of those videos is below. Get to know your newest Dallas Cowboys today.

Three things to know about CeeDee Lamb

Three things to know about Trevon Diggs

Three things to know about Neville Gallimore

It's a wrap. Day 3 of Cowboys Draft Picks

6) TRAINING CAMP IN FRISCO?

"We've done some heavy planning on, first, if we're able to go to Oxnard,'' he said. "And if we're not able to go to Oxnard, what's it going to look like if it's in Frisco?"

Those were head coach Mike McCarthy’s words when asked about training camp in Oxnard, Calif., this year. COVID-19 has the Cowboys preparing for every contingency. Here’s Mike Fisher with more.

7) NFL FOOTBALL IN 2020? JERRY JONES HAS THOUGHTS

With the COVID-19 outbreak, the NFL’s pre-draft activities became virtual activities after the NFL Scouting Combine. The NFL Draft, set to be in Las Vegas, became a virtual draft. Right now, organized team activities (or OTA’s) are virtual, too. Until further notice, players can’t darken the door of team facilities.

After Day 2 of the NFL Draft, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones talked about what he expects from the NFL in 2020.

8) OUR CONDOLENCES TO PRESCOTT FAMILY

As the NFL Draft started on Thursday night, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott received some awful news, as he learned that his brother, Jace (nicknamed ‘Moose’) died earlier that day. The Cowboys released the news, along with Jace’s alma mater, Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La. Jace was a three-year letterwinner for the Demons.

Dak Prescott and his family, sadly, are no stranger to tragedy, as the family lost its mother, Peggy, to colon cancer in 2013.

The CowboysSI.com staff offers its condolences to Dak and his family.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell offered his sympathies as well.

9) CELEBRATING THE COWBOYS’ 60TH

Once you get done basking in Dallas' future ...

The Dallas Cowboys are celebrating their 60th season in the NFL in 2020 and Richie Whitt is counting down the 60 biggest moments in franchise history. Here’s the link to the full list.

10) TWEET OF THE WEEK

Wanna talk more Cowboys? Jump into CowboysSI Plus, and hit up Postins on Twitter at @PostinsPostcard and Mike Fisher on Twitter @FishSports

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Matthew Postins
MATTHEW POSTINS

Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist writes for CowboyMaven. He also writes for Inside the Rangers, CowboyMaven,DallasBasketball.com, Longhorn Country, All Aggies, Inside The Texans, Washington Football, covers the Big 12 for HeartlandCollegeSports.com and is the Editor of the College Football America Yearbook.

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