DALLAS — The last time the Dallas Cowboys took a first-round defensive tackle was in 1991.
Take your pick as to whether it was Russell Maryland at No. 1 overall or Kelvin Prichett at No. 20 overall. Prichett was immediately traded by Dallas to the Detroit Lions for their second, third and fourth-round picks. Regardless, the Cowboys hadn't picked a defensive tackle since then until Thursday night when they grabbed Michigan's Mazi Smith with the No. 26 overall selection in Round 1 of the 2023 NFL draft.
The organization had valued defensive tackle differently since taking Maryland to leadoff the 1991 draft. Forget using the No. 1 overall pick; the highest the Cowboys would go for a defensive tackle in subsequent drafts would be the third round.
"At the time, we got a lot of flak for over-picking him," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told reporters April 27 after Round 1. "Russell was undersized at the time, but of course he had a great career here. I don’t know if he is still number one in character and quality [years later] and he has turned out to be that way 33 years later, but hopefully we got a player of that quality or with those characteristics. These are different guys."
The 6-foot-1, 300-pound defensive lineman played with the Cowboys through the 1995 campaign, winning three Super Bowls and earning one Pro Bowl in the process. The former Miami Hurricane was part of a defensive line rotation under coach Jimmy Johnson that was aggressive and sent waves of defenders.
"Russell was a gapper type player, in that sense, in terms of the type of players these guys are," Jones said.
The game has changed since 1991 as the NFL is more of a pass-heavy league with the run becoming more de-emphasized. Nevertheless, Smith's presence at 6’-3”, 337 pounds gives the Cowboys an anchor inside their defensive line that should apply pressure and shore up the run defense.
The Cowboys are pleased with the work it took to land Smith.
Said Jones: "We were walking out the door yesterday, and I hit [coach Mike McCarthy] and he said, ‘Mazi.’ This was one of those things that worked that way for us.”
The Cowboys have six picks remaining in the draft with a pick per round with rounds two and three to be selected as the draft resumes on Friday evening.
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