Dallas Cowboys: 5 Year Draft Record and Grades
The Dallas Cowboys are considered a team that is filled with talent, but has underacheived lately. I was wondering just how good a drafter is Jerry Jones?
2006
1st round: Bobby Carpenter
2nd Round: Anthony Fasano
3rd Round: Jason Hatcher
4th Round: Skyler Green
5th Round: Pat Watkins
6th Round:Montavious Stanley
7th Round: Pat McQuiistan
7th Round: E.J. Whitley
Five years later this draft doesn’t look very good. Bobby Carpenter flamed out and Carpenter only had 96 tackles with the Cowboys over four years and 3.5 sacks. Carpenter is the definition of a bust for the Dallas Cowboys, and the only player left on the roster from that draft is Jason Hatcher and he had 13 tackles and 1 sack last year. A very good draft will usually earn a team about three starters and some quality depth. A terrible draft will have all the players off the team only five years later.
A few of these players are still in the league. Anthony Fasano is an average Tight End for the Dolphins, and Pat Watkins is a reserve for the San Diego Chargers, but there are no true impact players in the league from this draft.
Draft Grade F
One player still on the roster? And that players is a backup player with 13 tackles? That’s not very good no matter how you slice it.
2007
1st Round: Anthony Spencer, OLB
3rd Round: James Martin, OT, Boston College
4th round: Isiah Stanback, WR, Washington
4th Round: Doug Free, OT, Northern Illinois
6th Round: Nick Folk, K, Arizona
6th Round: Deon Anderson, FB, Connecticut
7th Round: Alan Ball, CB, Illinois
The 2006 draft was absolutely atrocious, but things are different in the 2007 N.F.L. Draft. James Martin didn’t even make it tot end of the following year on the Cowboys roster so that’s a big negative early. But Anthony Spencer is not the bust that Bobby Carpenter is. While Spencer hasn’t been great, he’s been a serviceable starter. He has 15.5 sacks in his career and at least five each in the past two seasons. The Cowboys could stand to upgrade Spencer, but he’s not a bad player. Isiah Stanback isn’t doing anything for any team in the league either. 7th round pick, Alan Ball, started 16 games last year. Even though Ball is not a great safety, he is quality depth. Deon Anderson is no longer on the roster.
Doug Free is the prize pick here. Picked up in the 4th round, Free was an effective starter at LT for the Cowboys last year and looks to be the Left tackle for the next N.F.L. season as well. Finding a guy you feel comfortable starting at LT in the 4th round is excellent value.
Grade C.
Teams want to end up with three starters five years down the road from each draft, and the Cowboys did do that. Now the fact that none are plus starters, and Ball shouldn’t even be starting, makes this an average draft. If Free plays a few more years at LT and Spencer ever has a breakout year this draft will look much better.
2008
First Round: Felix Jones, RB, Arkansas, Mike Jenkins, CB, South Florida
2nd Round:Martellus Bennett, TE, Texas A & M
4th Round Tashard Choice, RB, GA Tech
5th Round: Orlando Scandrick, CB, Boise State
6th Round Erik Walden, LB, Middle Tennessee State
After unimpressive drafts, the Cowboys did much better here. The only player from this draft not still on the roster after a few years is Erik Walden, but he was a 6th round pick and he’s still in the league.
Felix Jones has showed the same explosive ability he did while playing at Arkansas, but he hasn’t been exceptional. 185 carries for 800 yards last season with 48 receptions for 450 yards, and also some returns. Jones, though, only had two touchdowns, which is where his downfall is. He still has plenty of play making ability. Mike Jenkins had a down year last year, but is still a good young player who has plenty of time to turn it around. He and Jones are both starters.
Martellus Bennett has been controversial to say the least (Youtube is not his best friend), but he also started 11 games for the Cowboys last year and was one of the most productive #2 TE options in the entire league last year with 33 receptions for 260 yards.
Tashard Choice is part of a very good three man RB rotation for the Cowboys, and a player who could get looks as a starter on many other teams, but he averages well less than a 100 carries a year. He get many, many more carries after Garrett became the head coach than he did before (56 of his 66 carries in the last 8 games), and could be a player that is going to see a big jump in his production this year.
Orlando Scandrick is a decent reserve cornerback who started three games for the Cowboys this past season, which is all you can ask for from a 5th round pick.
Draft Grade B
Number of starters: 2 (Jones, Jenkins), and both players are pretty good starters, but they are not great. The rest of the draft is filled with very quality reserve guys. Considering they drafted 6 players and five of them are still on the team making an impact is a good thing.
2009:
3rd Round: Jason Williams, LB, Western Illinois, Robert Brewester, T, Ball State
4th Round:Stephen McGee, QB, Texas A & M, Victor Butler, OLB, Oregon State, Brandon Williams, DE, Texas Tech
5th Round: DeAngelo Smith, CB, Cinncinnati, Mike Hamlin, CB, Clemson, David Buehler, K, USC
6th Round: Stephen Hodge, LB, Texas Christian, John Phillips, TE, Virginia
7th Round: Mike Mickens, CB, Cincinnati, Manuel Johnson, WR, Oklahoma
This is a draft that doesn’t look like it’s going to pan out. The Cowboys wanted to focus on strengthening their special teams, and they did do that. They kept trading down for extra picks and ended up making 12 picks in 2009. 9 of the 12 players still remain on the roster, but last year saw only 4 starts from this roster (all from John Phillips at Tight End). David Buehler has a huge leg, but might not be long for the N.F.L if he doesn’t improve his percentage (75 percent). Some of these players could still develop into starters down the road, but I think the likelihood of that happening is minimal, at best.
Grade D+
It’s still early, but no starters yet, and I’m going to go back to what I thought when they had this draft class. “What the heck are the Cowboys doing here”. It looked like the Cowboys were desperately trying to fill their special teams and let the rest of the talent on the team take them to the promise land, but what might have happened is the Cowboys wasted a year of drafting. If Stephen Mcgee develops into a starting quarterback at some point this draft grade changes.
2010
1st round:Dez Bryant, WR, Oklahoma State
2nd Round: Sean Lee, LB, Penn State
4th Round:Akwasi Owusu Ansah, DB,
6th Round: Sam Young, T, Norte Dame Jamar Wall, CB, Texas Tech
7th Round: Sean Lissmore, DT, Williams and Mary, Josh Brent, NT, Illinois
Grade: B+. I liked this draft a lot when it happened and I still do. The players have flashed in their short careers. If Dez Bryant can mature completely before he runs himself off the Cowboys with his antics he can be a special player. Bryant, like Hakeem Nicks and Anquan Boldin and others plays so physical that he’s always at risk for minor injuries, but like those players he can completely dominate games. Sean Lee also looks to have a bright future in the N.F.L….if he can stay healthy, and I liked the Ansah pick, and he’s still a project, but his pure ability is obvious.
What are you thoughts Cowboys fans (and haters too) what do you think of the Cowboys recent draft record?
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