Stephen Jones: Lamb was 'long gone' by No. 17 in Cowboys' mock drafts

The Dallas Cowboys were prepared for several scenarios with their No. 17 pick on Thursday night. None of them, though, included landing wide receiver CeeDee Lamb.

"We thought he was a top-10 pick," Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said, according to dallascowboys.com's Jonny Auping. "We never really thought we had a chance to get him. Every mock draft we did, we had him long gone."

Lamb was graded as the No. 6 overall player on the Cowboys' draft board, according to Jon Machota of The Athletic. The wideout was then a no-brainer selection for Dallas, despite the three trade offers the team received while on the clock.

"We just didn't want to miss him," owner Jerry Jones said.

The Philadelphia Eagles were interested in Lamb and tried to trade up to the Atlanta Falcons' No. 16 pick to select him, according to Ed Werder of ESPN. The deal didn't happen, and the Eagles selected wide receiver Jalen Reagor with the 21st overall pick instead.

Falling to the Cowboys was also a surprise to the former Oklahoma standout.

"I didn't (think it was possible), but I'm happy that's where I ended up," Lamb said.

"When my phone rang it surprised me. Everything that I dreamed of was in that phone call," he added.

Lamb joins a group of receivers that features Amari Cooper, who signed a long-term extension this offseason, and third-year pro Michael Gallup.

It's the first time the Cowboys have selected a wide receiver in the first round since Dez Bryant in 2010.