Cardinals select WR CeeDee Lamb in ESPN 2020 re-draft

Hindsight is 20/20, but what if every team had a chance to go back in time and redo last year’s NFL draft?

The 2020 draft class was littered with talent, and plenty of rookies made major impacts for their respective franchises.

Some more than others.

ESPN had their reporters re-draft the first two rounds of the 2020 draft, with every team picking in their original spot and no trades allowed.

Instead of taking Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons with the No. 8 pick, the re-draft has the Cardinals selecting former Oklahoma and current Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb.

The Cardinals needed another top-tier wide receiver in their offense to make it go at the high-octane speed that Kliff Kingsbury prefers. Lamb would give the Cardinals the ideal complement to DeAndre Hopkins and Larry Fitzgerald, and he’d also allow for an easy transition between WR and QB considering he played with Kyler Murray in college — and in a pandemic-shortened offseason, that would’ve come in handy.

After getting his bearings early on in the year, Simmons saw an expanded role as the season went on. The linebacker recorded 46 tackles, two sacks, an interception and a forced fumble during his rookie campaign.

But looking back at the year from an offensive standpoint, quarterback Kyler Murray could have used another wideout to stretch the field.

DeAndre Hopkins led the Cardinals with 115 catches, 1,407 yards and six touchdowns. Outside of Hopkins, who earned a spot on the All-Pro second team, the production dropped off significantly with Arizona’s second option, Christian Kirk, finishing with 48 catches, 621 yards and six touchdowns.

Despite playing with five different starting quarterbacks, Lamb ended his rookie season with 74 catches, 935 yards and five touchdowns.

Lamb ended up falling into the middle of the first round, where the Cowboys selected him 17th overall.