FRISCO, Texas _ It was the moment CeeDee Lamb realized he was really a Dallas Cowboy.
Quarterback Dak Prescott texted him an invite over to the house for your typical game of backyard catch. Only this was one of Lamb's first times to get to know his quarterback and to work alongside teammates such as Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup.
"It was actually like a surreal moment, understanding that I play for the Dallas Cowboys now," Lamb said. "And Dak Prescott actually texted me and asked me to come over and work with him. It was an unbelievable moment."
Lamb, the Cowboys' first-round pick in April's draft, has impressed everyone, including Prescott, Cooper and head coach Mike McCarthy so far during training camp.
"He already has the overall package. It is just sharpening the tools from here," Cooper said. "He does run effortlessly in his strides. He has really good route running."
Perhaps that's the mentor appreciating the protege. Lamb has peppered Cooper, Gallup and just about everyone else with questions as he learns the system and acclimates to the NFL after three years at Oklahoma.
"Seeing him run routes every day is actually ... the man can get in and out of his routes like nobody I've seen," Lamb said of Cooper. "Just seeing him work, asking him questions, picking his brain, getting a little knowledge, tips for whatever he has in his game that he wants to pass down to me to add into my game, I feel like I'm taking all of that into consideration. I'm asking as many questions as possible and he's answering them. I appreciate him for that."
Receivers coach Adam Henry, still shocked that Lamb fell to Dallas at No. 17 in the draft, said there is still plenty of work ahead, but sounded cautiously optimistic about the rookie's potential.
"There's still a lot of hard work to be put in, and he's doing the work and he's asking the questions. We know that he's an extreme talent," Henry said. "You have be a coach on the field and understand situational football, route techniques, leverage, angles, things of that nature. The speed and the catching ability is there. It's just the little things of just becoming that professional receiver."
Running back Tony Pollard has already seen enough.
"Yeah, he's worth the hype. I mean, there were a lot of rumors saying that he was over-hyped or overrated, but nah, I don't think that's the case at all," Pollard said after the first week of camp.
Lamb, who is wearing the venerable No. 88, is aware of that hype and the expectations, especially following in the footsteps of other former Cowboys who wore that jersey number such as Drew Pearson, Michael Irvin and Dez Bryant.
"It's a big tradition, and a big thing here in Dallas," he said. "Wearing that No. 88 means a lot to myself now and for sure to Dallas and I'm going to do everything in my power to withhold that trophy number and do my best to keep it going."
The biggest eye-opener so far in NFL camp for Lamb _ besides that invite to Prescott's backyard football field that had him feeling like "a little kid at the playground" _ has been speed of the game at the pro level.
"You see everybody on the field is definitely a different specimen," Lamb said. "You've got D-linemen running 4.7, you got (defensive backs) running 4.2s, 4.3s, linebackers going sideline to sideline running 4.4-4.5, and it's things you can't teach."
