Leading up to the NFL Scouting Combine, we will preview the top prospects in the 2020 NFL Draft based on The Athletic's Dane Brugler's Top-100 list.
Prospect in Focus: Oklahoma WR CeeDee Lamb (6'2", 192) JUNIOR
Overview
This year's draft class is rich at receiver and picking a wideout is like picking ice cream — it depends on what flavor you prefer. Lamb has great ball skills and toughness. He had a career-high 1,327 yards and 14 touchdowns on 62 receptions this season and averaged 21.4 yards per catch.
"His stats are so impressive, but when you break down that traits, that's what really stands out," The Athletic's Dane Brugler said. "It's a loaded class, but Lamb is at the top for me. He came into the season with a lot of expectations with both QB Kyler Murray and WR (Marquise) Hollywood Brown gone to the NFL. Both were first-round picks last year. Lamb comes back with a new quarterback in Jalen Hurts and even though Hurts was up and down as a passer, CeeDee Lamb exploded. It's a big part of what he does … He just understands how to manipulate coverage and he has the finishing skills that he can turn small plays into big plays."
2019: 62 rec, 1,327 yards, 21.4 avg, 14 TD
2018: 65 rec, 1,158 yards, 17.8 avg, 11 TD
2017: 46 rec, 807 yards, 17.5 avg, 7 TD
The Scouting Report
Lamb, according to Brugler, doesn't have great acceleration, but does have a good top gear. Lamb's ball skills separate him from the rest of the receivers in this class and that trait makes him Brugler's No. 1 WR and No. 9 overall prospect.
"His focus, his finishing skills, they're both above average," he said. "He makes those difficult catches look easy and when I was getting feedback from different scouts around the league, several of them mentioned how they were very surprised about his football IQ and how high it was. He understands the details of the position and how to create route leverage. Then his competitive nature. He'll make defenders miss with his body strength. He's one of the most eager blockers I've ever scouted. Lamb is an easy player to like."
Lamb didn't see a lot of press coverage in his three seasons with the Sooners. Brugler doesn't believe he'll have a problem with the transition to the NFL because of his height, weight and play strength. Lamb, however, needs to work on his releases off the line of scrimmage at the pro level.
"He needs to be a little more subtle with his downfield physicality," Brugler said. "There are times where he pushes off. He's a very physical receiver. He needs to work on some of those little things that could be called at the next level. Even though they are strengths of his game in terms of his aggressive nature, they could be called as flags in the NFL. There's room for improvement there."
Why Jets Fans Should Care
Robby Anderson and Demaryius Thomas are scheduled to become free agents in March and Quincy Enunwa's status is in question as he recovers from a neck injury.
"With the futures of Robby Anderson and Quincy Enunwa with the franchise in question, wide receiver might shoot near the top of the Jets' wish list this offseason," Brugler said. "If no receivers come off the board in the top-10, which is a realistic scenario, the Jets could have their choice of whichever receiver they want at No. 11 and Lamb has the route athleticism and ball skills to warrant that pick."
