2020 NFL Draft: CeeDee Lamb making his case as draft’s top receiver

Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy is widely considered the top receiver in the 2020 NFL Draft, but not if Oklahoma receiver CeeDee Lamb has anything to saying about it.

In a dominating 55-16 win over Texas Tech, one of the stars for the Oklahoma Sooners was wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. Lamb had a huge day against the Red Raiders, recording seven catches for 185 yards and three touchdowns. He once again showed us why he’s going to be a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Although Lamb looks like a future first-round pick, he’s not considered the best wide receiver in the 2020 NFL Draft in many circles. That title has been given to wide receiver Jerry Jeudy of the Alabama Crimson Tide… for now. Jeudy is without a doubt one of the best receivers in college football, but Lamb is making his own case to be the first wide receiver off the board when the 2020 NFL Draft rolls around.

Jeudy has the traits of a number one receiver in the NFL, which is why he’s so widely considered the top receiver in this class. Lamb also has the traits to be a number one receiver at the next level, but in a different way than Jeudy. Here, I’ll break down Lamb’s strengths and weaknesses, comparing them to those of Jeudy’s to show how Lamb has a real chance to be the first receiver off the board in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Strengths

Size & Physicality

Standing 6-foot-2, 191 pounds, Lamb has the size NFL teams love to see in receivers. Lamb has plenty of room to grow into his frame and will only get stronger as he gets work in an NFL weight program, but he already uses his size to his advantage.

Lamb consistently uses his size to fight through contact of defenders. He has the ability to separate, but even in tight coverage, Lamb is rarely affected by it. With a big frame and great hands, Lamb can fight through contact and come down with contested passes. Part of the reason Lamb is able to make a lot of plays down field is because he uses his physicality at the line of scrimmage to get by defenders.

Once Lamb has the ball in his hands, his size and physicality allow him to pick up extra yards after the catch. Weak tackles will not bring him down. Even when a defender seems to have a strong tackle on Lamb, he fights through the tackle. Watch how his physicality fighting through a tackle leads to a score for Lamb on the following touchdown catch.

https://twitter.com/CFBONFOX/status/1178008015674458112

Ball skills & Body control

When Lamb gets down the field, his ability to bring down catches might be unmatched by any receiver in the nation. Lamb always seems to know where he has to be to make a play on the ball. He has the ability to move his body in ways many receivers can’t, which allows him to come down with catches maybe he shouldn’t be able to catch.

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One of the best traits about Lamb, is that he knows where he is on the field. He’s a great target down the sideline, not only because of his big body, but because of his awareness to know how close he is to the sideline. He’s exceptional when it comes to dragging his feet to keep them inbounds to make sure he completes the catch.

Weaknesses

Speed

There’s nothing wrong with Lamb’s speed. Lamb has good enough speed to succeed as a receiver in the NFL, he just doesn’t have elite speed. Speed is nice, but it’s not everything. Plenty of receivers win in other ways.

What Lamb lacks in elite speed, he makes up for with his strengths of being physical and having great ball tracking skills. Even though Lamb may not be the fastest guy on the field, his 25.8 yards per catch this season tells us he’s perfectly capable of making big down field plays.

Route running

Like his speed, there’s nothing wrong with Lamb’s route running. However, his route running isn’t exceptional like that of Jeudy’s. He needs to work on disguising his routes instead of showing defenders the route he’s running. The route tree Lamb runs at Oklahoma is somewhat limited and non complex, so he’ll have to learn to add more routes to his arsenal as he transitions from college to the NFL.

Lamb vs Jeudy

While Jeudy is considered the top overall wide receiver by many, I think it depends more on what type of receiver a team is looking for. Jeudy has comparable size to Lamb, but he doesn’t use his size in the way Lamb does and doesn’t get open using his physicality. Lamb makes more contested plays using size and strong hands. On the flip side, Jeudy has more speed and better route running than Lamb, which is how he gets open.

While most scouts are set on Jeudy as the number one wide receiver in the 2020 NFL Draft, I don’t think it’s fair to claim him as the consensus number one guy just yet. Lamb looks like a number one wide receiver, and he could just as easily be the first guy off the board.