Make no mistake about it, the NFL Draft has turned into prime time entertainment…literally. Draft day trades, star prospects falling, surprising players getting picked far ahead of predictions, booing, cheering, the draft has it all. The Cowboys certainly add to the drama every year as well.
Whether it is a crazy trade, or completely missing all 12 draft picks in 2009, Jerry sure knows how to keep Cowboys fans on their toes. To try and mentally prepare for what is about to happen, let’s take a quick trip down memory lane and recap all the Cowboys’ drafts since 2000.
2000 – The Cowboys didn’t have a first round pick, and ended up selecting 3 defensive backs. None of them were very impactful. The biggest note was that they drafted Dwayne Goodrich, who ended up being convicted on 2 counts of criminally negligent homicide and served 8 years in prison. GRADE: F
2001 – Again, the Cowboys did not have a 1st round pick. The most notable selection was their first at #53, quarterback Quincy Carter, who wasn’t a complete bust. Carter led the Cowboys to the playoffs, and looked to have potential. However, poor decisions away from the football field led to his drastic downfall. GRADE: C-
2002 – This was a great draft for Dallas. They ended up coming away with Safety Roy Williams with the first round pick, and also nabbed guard Andre Gurode and wide receiver Antonio Bryant. All 3 of which turned into significant players for the Cowboys in the early 2000’s. GRADE: A
2003 – This makes it two successful draft in a row for Dallas. When it was all said and done, they drafted cornerback Terrance Newman with the #5 overall pick, and then landed tight end Jason Witten and linebacker Bradie James in rounds three and four. GRADE: A
2004 – Looking for the next Emmitt Smith, the Cowboys took running back Julius Jones with their first pick (#43 overall). Jones had a few memorable moments, but injuries zapped him of his potential pretty quickly. This ended up being a pretty decent draft overall, as the Cowboys got a handful of guys that would eventually start games for them. Perhaps the most well-known name would be wide receiver Patrick Crayton. GRADE: B-
2005 – This was one of the best drafts the Cowboys have ever had, even though they could have done even more. They had two picks in the first round (#11 and #20), and selected their future all-time sack leader Demarcus Ware, and fellow defensive lineman Marcus Spears. Overall, they drafted 6 starters by also selecting linebacker Kevin Burnett in the second round, running back Marion Barber and defensive end Chris Canty in the fourth round. Then, with their seventh round pick, they drafted an unknown guy by the name of Jay Ratliff. GRADE: A
2006 – This was the year they selected linebacker Bobby Carpenter with their first round pick, possibly one of their worst draft picks for Dallas of all time. This entire draft would have been a COMPLETE bust, had they not drafted defensive end Jason Hatcher in the third round. GRADE: WORSE THAN F
2007 – The Cowboys rebounded from their terrible draft the year before, and drafted linebacker Anthony Spencer with their first round pick. They also drafted offensive lineman Doug Free in the fourth, and cornerback Alan Ball in the seventh round. GRADE: B-
2008 – This draft had the potential to be MUCH more than what it ended up being for Dallas. They drafted running back Felix Jones with their first pick. Then, they followed that up with cornerback Mike Jenkins three picks later (they had picks 22 and 25 in the 1st round), tight end Martellus Bennett in the second round, running back Tashard Choice in the fourth, and cornerback Orlando Scandrick in the fifth round. GRADE: B-
2009 – This was perhaps the worst draft Dallas performance of all time. Trades had given the Cowboys 12 total picks to work with. They owned: two picks in the 3rd round, three in the 4th, three in the 5th, two in the 6th and two in the 7th. The biggest name ended up being quarterback Stephen Mcgee, if that tells you anything. GRADE: THERE ISN’T A GRADE BAD ENOUGH FOR THIS ONE
2010 – This was a very important draft for Dallas, and completely changed the direction of the franchise. Dallas got lucky as Dez Bryant slipped to them in the first round. Then, they followed that up by grabbing linebacker Sean Lee in the second round. It can be argued that Dallas got two of their best three players, currently on roster, in this draft. GRADE: A+
2011 – Dallas continued building its foundation, and the beginning of their new offensive line by drafting tackle Tyron Smith in the first round. They officially made it a successful draft by then grabbing linebacker Bruce Carter in the second round and future rushing champion Demarco Murray in the third. GRADE: A
2012 – This is the draft where Dallas traded all the way up to grab “the next Deion Sanders” by selecting Morris Claiborne at #6 overall. The other two notable names are defensive end Tyrone Crawford (third round) and tight end James Hanna (sixth round). GRADE: C+
2013 – Dallas continued building its offensive line by drafting center Travis Frederick with the first round pick, after trading down. They also managed to get wide receiver Terrance Williams in the third and running back Joseph Randle in the fifth. GRADE: B-
2014 – The first three picks for Dallas ended up being significant. They drafted guard Zack Martin #16 overall, got defensive end (and currently suspended) Demarcus Lawrence in the second, and linebacker Anthony Hitchens in the fourth. GRADE: B+
2015 – Last year, Dallas got very lucky drafting Byron Jones with their first round pick. Then, they took a chance on defensive end Randy Gregory (who is also currently suspended). GRADE: B+
Be sure to ask Blake for a Cowboys grade for this year's draft on Twitter at @blakegibbs.
