People had high hopes for him because, contrary to your blathering, Lampe was considered either the #1 or #2 FB last year. Not because of McDaniels' want for a FB.
Robbie Ouzts, selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the 5th round (175th overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft, was the lone standout rookie fullback. The former Alabama player appeared in 12 games with 2 starts during his rookie campaign.
Lampe was an undrafted guy from the Northern Illinois Huskies of the Mid-America Conference who got injured in the first padded practice. He was a no risk tryout at a position that much of the league ignores. Funny story though…
You take swipes at where Lampe played while completely ignoring where FBs like Jusczyck (Harvard), Gilliam (Toledo), Kuhn (Shippensburg), Tolbert (Coastal Carolina), Vonta Leach (East Carolina) played. So this idea that a FB has to go to a School that's in the SEC or Big 10, doesn't fly to be effective is just laughable.
If I said it was only his small school pedigree that was the problem, then I would have been wrong. But I also mentioned his lack of athleticism and strength, pair those two together.
Let's look at Some of Lampe's numbers:
Bench - 22
Vertical - 34
Broad - 9'04
Shuttle - 4.4
3-Cone - 7.43
I would have compared Lampe to Kuhn and Tolbert, but neither had actual Pro-Day stats for me to pull up. I didn't compare him to Picard or Juszczyk because they are unicorns at the FB position.
Not really, James Develin wasn’t a great athlete either, but he did bench it
39 times at his pro day. That is why Develin at 6'3" 255 pounds could wham block a DT who outweighs him by 70 pounds. Not because of good vibes.
FB’s in the league are few and far between, and if by unicorns you mean the population is dwindling, then I guess that’s true. Kyle Juszczyk was a great athlete exiting Harvard, Ricard is a 300 pound DT and willing blocker. They have traits… Lampe not so much.
Vonta Leach -
Bench - 21
Vertical - 31
Broad - 8'09
Shuttle - 4.54
3-Cone - 7.46
So, Lampe's numbers are the same or better than Leach. So, that kinds destroys this idea that he wasn't strong, agile, mobile, expolsive or that the level of competition makes a difference.
Not it doesn’t, Westover played last year, a better athlete than Lampe but still not great. and Westover wasn’t good. Just playing doesn’t make you good. There’s a lot of jags playing in the NFL, especially on bad teams, but even on some good ones.
The reality is that we don't know why Lampe was cut. YOU pretending like you do or have some special insight is just laughable.
I never claimed to, which is why I usually start sentences with phrases like
“I guess, I assume,” or
“it’s my opinion.”
We don’t know if a healthy Lampe wouldn’t have gotten canned last preseason either, or played as poorly as Westover, or worse.
You guys had him in the binkie HOF. So now you’re salty… I get it.