When the Cowboys drafted CeeDee Lamb you knew immediately they had someone who could be special. Lamb was a speed demon at Oklahoma that put on a highlight reel every game and was a featured part in the Sooners offensive attack. So far this season Lamb has had flashes, but he hadn’t yet had a breakout performance or sensational catch that signaled he had arrived as a rookie star receiver — in part due to the quarterback instability in Dallas so far this season.
During Sunday’s matchup against the Vikings, Lamb may have had his moment in what was has been the best catch of his young career. The Cowboys were deep into Vikings territory and looking to add another touchdown on the board. Anything else at this point would have been a victory for the Vikings defense. Dalton threw up a fade to Lamb, but while Lamb was looking back shoulder, the ball was towards the back pylon instead. The rookie’s adjustment to the pass turned into a highlight.
CEEDEE. #DallasCowboys
📺: #DALvsMIN on FOX
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/tUoK0wsA9N pic.twitter.com/82SyWUpzYy— NFL (@NFL) November 22, 2020
The back angle only further shows the incredible degree of difficulty on the grab.
CEE DEE.
That’s it. That’s the tweet. #DALvsMIN on @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/KiYsMb6iQJ
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) November 22, 2020
Lamb makes this looks so easy despite it being a move that even the NFL’s best receivers struggle to make. What separates the elite receivers from the good ones is being able to make catches even on poorly thrown passes and expanding the target radius for your quarterback. On this one, Lamb does just that and brings it in so naturally he makes it look easy.
If Lamb’s career pans out the way many think it will then this is the kind of play that will be used as a coming out moment for him. A highlight catch in his rookie year where he made the difficult look easy.