2020 NFL Draft: Arizona Cardinals should go all-in, draft CeeDee Lamb

By David Glancy | Apr 23, 2020

Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images /

The Arizona Cardinals should complete the offensive rebuild by taking Kyler Murray’s favorite college target, CeeDee Lamb, in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Arizona Cardinals drafted former Heisman Trophy winner, Kyler Murray with the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, committing to their focus on creating a new NFL offense. The Cardinals fired head coach Steve Wilks after one season with the team and replaced him with fired Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury. Kinsbury was brought in to bring his air-raid style offense to the NFL in an attempt to recreate the offense similar to what the Rams did by hiring Sean McVay.

After starting just one year at Oklahoma, Murray won the Heisman Trophy and led the Sooners to a playoff appearance after throwing for 4,300 yards and 42 touchdowns. After publicly saying he would draft Murray with the first overall pick if he had a chance during an interview at Texas Tech, Kingsbury followed through on his word and brought the Cardinals a second straight first-round quarterback in as many years.

The Arizona Cardinals then fully committed to Murray and Kingsbury by trading 2018 tenth overall selection Josh Rosen to the Dolphins one day after drafting Murray in exchange for the 2019 62nd overall selection and a fifth-round pick in the 2020 Draft. The Cardinals then drafted receivers Andy Isabella, Hakeem Butler and KeeSean Johnson to give Murray options in his new offense.

After a successful rookie season where he started all 16 games and threw for over 3,700 yards and 20 touchdowns, the Cardinals continued to make moves adding to Kingsbury’s offense. Kenyan Drake was traded for during the year, providing a greater scheme fit for Kingsbury and saw his greatest success since entering the league averaging over 100 yards per game.

The Cardinals finished the season playing well despite posting a 5-10-1 record and finishing in last place in the NFC West. The Cardinals looked to build around Murray and prior to the move of the offseason which saw star receiver DeAndre Hopkins move to Arizona, Murray had apparently been lobbying for the Cardinals to bring in his favorite college target, CeeDee Lamb.

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The Arizona Cardinals then completed the 2020 offseason blockbuster by trading for DeAndre Hopkins and a fourth-round pick in exchange for David Johnson, his contract, and a 2021 selection. After bringing in the All-Pro to play alongside future first-ballot Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk, it appeared the Cardinals would turn their focus away from CeeDee Lamb and prioritize one of the many talented offensive tackles or defensive prospects in the first round.

As we enter the final hours leading up to the 2020 NFL Draft, trade rumors are swirling in every direction. One reoccurring rumor that has lasted through the offseason has been Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray continues to campaign for Lamb.

While the Arizona Cardinals already have one of the top receiver groups in the NFL, they should continue to commit to rebuilding their offense and draft CeeDee Lamb with the eighth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Lamb is an ideal fit in Kingsbury’s offense and can become the long-term star of the offense.

The chemistry already exists between Kyler Murray and CeeDee Lamb given their success together in one season at Oklahoma accounting for over 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns in one season. Regardless of having DeAndre Hopkins, Murray wants to continue to play with Lamb and the Arizona Cardinals should take their future star’s request seriously.

Kingsbury wants to put as many receivers on the field and the Arizona Cardinals did not shy away from throwing the ball as Murray averaged 34 attempts per game. While the current group of receivers looks nice, there is room for CeeDee Lamb to immediately see the field as a number 2 receiver opposite Hopkins. As a team looking at running multiple 5 receiver looks, drafting a number 2 receiver in the top ten would make more sense for the Cardinals than any other team.

While the Cardinals would then have Lamb, Hopkins, Fitzgerald, and Kirk along with their 2019 selections, it is worth noting Larry Fitzgerald’s time with the Cardinals is coming to an end. Fitzgerald is entering his 17th season with the franchise and while he is optimistic about the direction of the franchise, the 36-year-old receiver can’t play forever or at least as a top-two target in Kingsbury’s offense.

Lamb would give the Arizona Cardinals an heir to Fitzgerald and gives Kyler Murray a top target opposite Hopkins he can play with his entire career. He is a perfect fit for Kingsbury’s offense and can make an immediate impact as a rookie despite playing behind two All-Pro players.

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Lamb could learn behind two of the greats at the position while he develops into a star, and allows the Arizona Cardinals put their finale piece around Kyler Murray, something they’ve set out to do since Goodell took the podium last April.