Controversial play between Caleb Downs and CeeDee Lamb shows how fearless Dallas Cowboys rookie is
The Dallas Cowboys first-round rookie has been one of the top players to watch in Oxnard, California. This rep from training camp shows exactly why.
They say iron sharpens iron in the NFL. That’s good news for Dallas Cowboys first-round rookie Caleb Downs, who has been tasked with quite a challenge in training camp: defending All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb.
But the thing is, Downs is clearly not scared nor overwhelmed about the situation at hand. And a controversial rep from Saturday’s practice proves it.
Viral play between Lamb and Downs goes down in Cowboys practice
The play in question happened in the red zone during the Cowboys’ 11-on-11 drills. Downs was manned up against Lamb. With fellow first-round rookie EDGE Malachi Lawrence pressuring Dak Prescott, the rep quickly turned into a scramble drill.
Downs stayed with Lamb for the majority of the play and had outside leverage on him. As he scrambled, Prescott tried to throw inside, which would’ve allowed Lamb to catch it in open space. But Downs seemingly holds Lamb by the shoulder, leading to a controversial result.
Lamb threw his hands up in the air seemingly calling for a flag, while Downs continued to play the ball and got his hands on it, nearly getting an interception. You can watch the play in the X post below from former Cowboys WR Jesse Holley.
ESPN’s Todd Archer reported about the play: “Lamb looked like he wanted a flag, but the defensive coaches praised Downs.”
My take is this would’ve been flagged as a defensive pass interference on a Sunday, but it’s a close one. Still, it’s hard to not love what you see from Downs in the play. The kid is simply not intimidated by facing Lamb. The moment is not too big.
And even if it could’ve been a flag, he keeps playing the ball and finishes the rep strong, almost getting a takeaway in the endzone. That’s what you like to see, and I guarantee you is one of the reasons why the Cowboys coaches praised Downs for the play.
This battle will get increasingly fun once the pads come on. Earlier in the week, we saw Lamb beat Downs on a slant route in a play that yielded yards after the catch. As exciting as the rookie is, this is one of the NFL’s best wide receivers he’ll be facing most summer. Let’s see how much the crash course helps him ahead of the regular season.
For Downs, developing this area of his game is massive. As versatile as he was at Ohio State, covering slot receivers in the slot was far from his main assignment. All signs point toward the Cowboys planning to move Downs around the entire defense but his main role is shaping up to be at nickel.
The lessons need to pay off.