CeeDee Lamb Wears Net Over Helmet at Cowboys Camp, Takes Aim at Jerry Jones
CeeDee Lamb showed up to a routine Jugs machine drill this week wearing what looked like a beekeeper’s veil. There was a method to it — and a message behind it.
During Tuesday’s Cowboys training camp practice in Oxnard, Lamb pulled a mesh net over his helmet and facemask before stepping in front of the Jugs machine, deliberately cutting his own vision to force himself to track the ball longer. ESPN Cowboys reporter Todd Archer posted video of the drill: “CeeDee Lamb working with what I can only guess is a mosquito net to help focus catching passes off the Jugs machine.”
Cowboys reporter Patrik Walker captured the same drill from a different angle. “CeeDee Lamb wearing a net over his helmet and facemask during Jugs drills. #Cowboys” —
oh … that’s new.
CeeDee Lamb wearing a net over his helmet and facemask during Jugs drills. #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/R2DCzofG4Y
— Patrik [No C] Walker (@VoiceOfTheStar) August 4, 2026
Lamb barely missed a beat. He dropped just one or two passes through the entire session, according to Sports Illustrated. George Pickens tried the same drill afterward and lasted one rep. The ball sailed off his hands on his first attempt, and he pulled the net off and walked away laughing.
Lamb Says the Drill Is Aimed at Jerry Jones
Lamb wasn’t shy about explaining why. He’s had the sun in his eyes before at AT&T Stadium, most notably in a November 2024 home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, when he couldn’t locate a wide-open pass in the end zone because of glare. Jerry Jones has resisted installing curtains or another fix for the stadium’s lighting issue, and Lamb decided to call that out directly.
“I gotta practice catching without seeing the ball. My owner refuses to fix the issue with the sunlight coming into the stadium, so I gotta adapt.”
That quote, reported by HITC, is about as pointed a shot as an active player takes at his own owner during camp season. Lamb wasn’t demanding a fix. He was making clear he doesn’t expect one.
It’s worth noting the drill’s stated purpose and its actual training value aren’t necessarily the same thing. Blocking vision with a net trains ball-tracking and hand-eye coordination broadly — it doesn’t specifically replicate stadium glare. Still, wide receivers coach Junior Adams ran both Lamb and Pickens through it as a focus exercise, per ESPN’s camp notebook, and it’s not the first unconventional vision drill an NFL position coach has used — longtime tight ends coach Mike Pope reportedly had his players wear swim goggles for the same reason.
Lamb’s Health, and What’s at Stake in 2026
Beyond the theatrics, Lamb has been blunt about his priority this offseason: staying on the field. “For one, for me, it’s all about being healthy, being available for my team, because the last two years, that wasn’t the case,” Lamb told reporters over the weekend.
He’s not wrong about the pattern. A high ankle sprain cost Lamb three starts in 2025, and he finished the season with 75 catches for 1,077 yards and three touchdowns over 14 games. That was actually a step down statistically from his teammate: George Pickens, in his first season in Dallas after arriving via trade, caught 93 passes for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns and made his first Pro Bowl.
| Player | Games | Receptions | Yards | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CeeDee Lamb | 14 | 75 | 1,077 | 3 |
| George Pickens | 17 | 93 | 1,429 | 9 |
| Dak Prescott (passing) | 17 | — | 4,552 | — |
Dallas finished 2025 with the No. 2 offense in the NFL by total yardage, but the defense dragged the team to a 7-9-1 record and a Week 18 loss to the New York Giants that ended their season. That gap between an explosive offense and a defense that couldn’t hold up is exactly what the Cowboys spent the offseason trying to close, headlined by trading up to draft Ohio State safety Caleb Downs at No. 11 overall in April.
If Lamb stays healthy and the Lamb-Pickens tandem builds on last year’s production, Dallas should again field one of the league’s most dangerous passing attacks. The bigger question is whether Downs and a retooled front seven can turn last year’s bottom-tier defense into something that keeps games competitive into the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys open the 2026 season on September 13 on the road against the Giants — the same team that ended their 2025 campaign.
