Lamb, Murray Taken in NFL Draft First Round

NORMAN — Oklahoma wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and linebacker Kenneth Murray became the program's 46th and 47th first-round NFL Draft picks when they were chosen No. 17 and No. 23 overall, respectively, Thursday night. The Dallas Cowboys selected Lamb while the Los Angeles Chargers picked Murray.

This marks the third straight year the Sooners have produced at least one first-round pick and the second consecutive year they produced two.

Lamb and Murray were members of OU's 2017 recruiting class and declared for the draft following their junior years. They helped lead the Sooners to a 36-6 record, three Big 12 Championship game wins (all at AT&T Stadium where Lamb will play with the Cowboys) and three College Football Playoff appearances in their three seasons.

From Richmond, Texas, the 6-2, 195-pound Lamb was a consensus first-team All-American and Biletnikoff Award finalist as a junior this past season when he caught 62 passes for 1,327 yards and 14 touchdowns. He ranked third nationally and first in the Big 12 with his 21.4 yards per catch (the most ever by a Sooner with at least 50 receptions in a season), and tied for fifth in the country (led Big 12) in TD catches. Lamb also ranked 10th nationally with his 102.1 yards per catch despite ranking 71st with 4.8 grabs per contest.

The Most Outstanding Player of the 2019 Big 12 Championship game after totaling 173 yards on eight receptions, including a 71-yarder that set up OU's first touchdown in the win over No. 8 Baylor, Lamb ranks first at OU with 24 career catches of at least 40 yards and with six career games of at least 160 receiving yards. He also ranks second in career receiving TDs (32), third in career receiving yards (3,292; the most nationally over the last three seasons) and career 100-yard receiving games (14), sixth in career receptions (173) and 15th in career all-purpose yards (3,799). His 19.0 yards per catch is the highest average in school history among players with at least 130 receptions.

"I'm very thrilled for CeeDee and his family," said OU head coach Lincoln Riley, who has produced five first-round picks in his three years at the Sooners helm. "Been there with him since day one and remember watching him when he was a sophomore in high school. The progression he's made since then and the impact he made on the OU program and our university is just absolutely tremendous. Really excited for him here at the next level with the Cowboys. I think he's got a great chance to have a long and very prosperous career."

With Marquise Brown being selected No. 25 overall last year by the Baltimore Ravens, this marks just the fourth time since the 1996 draft that wide receivers from the same school were picked in the first round in consecutive years (Ohio State's Santonio Holmes in 2006 and Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez in 2007; Clemson's DeAndre Hopkins in 2013 and Sammy Watkins in 2014; Arizona State's N'Keal Harry in 2019 and Brandon Aiyuk in 2020).

Murray, a 6-2, 242-pounder from Missouri City, Texas, was a starter in all 42 of OU's games the last three seasons and is tied for 11th in school history (ranks ninth among linebackers) with 335 tackles. He also logged 37.0 career tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks.

Murray's collegiate career culminated with a 2019 first-team All-Big 12 honor and second-team AFCA All-America acclaim after leading OU with 102 tackles and 17.0 tackles for loss (tied for 19th nationally). The Bednarik and Butkus Award semifinalist made a season-high 13 tackles (2.5 for loss) in a season-opening win vs. Houston and logged 10 stops (3.0 for loss) in the Big 12 Championship.

"I'm emotional," Murray told SoonerSports.com after he was selected. "Obviously this is a huge goal that I've wanted to accomplish since I was a kid. Coming to Oklahoma, I wanted to leave a mark on the defensive side of the ball and was able to do that. It's just a lot of emotions right now. I'm just happy that I was able to do it, but honestly this is just the beginning."

When asked if he had an idea the Chargers were targeting him, Murray indicated he wasn't too surprised.

"I had a meeting with them at the (NFL) Combine and I thought it went well," he said. "Obviously it went pretty good because they decided to come get me. I feel like it's the perfect situation for me and I'm excited."

In 2018, Murray's 155 tackles were the most by a Sooner since 2007. He ranked second in the Big 12 and 13th in the nation with 11.1 tackles per game, and produced double-digit stops in nine of 14 contests.

"Kenneth has been a great leader for us, a starter from day one," said Riley. "He was one of the most influential and active players we've ever had in terms of off-the-field activities and has just been a great all-around Sooner. He's also a tremendous example of the progress of 'Speed D' and we look forward to him having a great career and becoming an instant-impact player with the Chargers."

The second and third rounds of the NFL Draft will take place Friday night, while rounds four through seven will be held Saturday.