Draft History: Cowboys have drafted a wealth of superstar talent
The Cowboys have had the sort of NFL Draft success that many other teams dream about. Dallas has found so many good players in the college ranks that they had to be shoehorned into the “best” list just to make sure there was a mention of all the Hall of Famers. There is no possible way to include the dozens of players who have earned multiple Pro Bowl selections but never made it into the Hall of Fame
BEST
10. (tie) Tyron Smith, T (Round 1, Pick 9 in 2011) and Zack Martin, G (Round 1, Pick 16 in 2014) - These two are starters on a Dallas offensive line that is currently one of the best in the NFL. Smith is a seven-time Pro Bowler and a two-time All-Pro who has played every offensive snap in a season three times. Martin became the first offensive lineman in more than 50 years to be named an MVP of a college bowl game when he earned the honor in the 2013 Pinstripe Bowl. He is a six-time Pro Bowler and a four-time All-Pro.
9. Jason Witten, TE (Round 3, Pick 69 in 2003) - The Tennessee product is one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history. He ranks second at the position (and fourth overall) all-time with 1,215 receptions, second among tight ends with 12,977 yards and fifth with 72 touchdowns. Witten is an 11-time Pro Bowler, a two-time All-Pro and the 2012 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award winner. After four 1,000-yard seasons and brief retirement in 2018 to work as an analyst on Monday Night Football, Witten spent one more year with the Cowboys before signing with the Raiders after the 2019 season.
8. (tie) Mel Renfro, CB (Round 2, Pick 17 in 1964) and Bob Hayes, WR (Round 7, Pick 88 in 1964) - The Cowboys found two Hall of Famers in the 1964 Draft. Renfro was a two-time All-American at Oregon who went on to star as a defensive back and returner for 14 seasons in Dallas. The 10-time Pro Bowler and two-time champion led the NFL in both punt and kickoff return yards as a rookie. He also totaled 52 interceptions, including a league-best 10 in his 1969 All-Pro season. Hayes is the only person to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl title. He won the 100 meter dash as a part of Team USA’s 4x100 meter gold medal relay team in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. “Bullet Bob” was a Pro Bowler in his first three seasons, a two-time All-Pro and a member of Dallas’ title team in Super Bowl VI. Hayes ranks high on the team’s all-time list with 365 receptions (eighth), 7,295 yards (sixth) and 71 touchdowns (third).
7. (tie) Bob Lilly, DT (Round 1, Pick 13 in 1961) and Randy White, DT (Round 1, Pick 2 in 1975) - Arguably the two best defensive players in team history are these two Hall of Fame defensive tackles, who were highly touted first round selections. Lilly was an All-American in 1960 at TCU. He was an 11-time Pro Bowl selection, a seven-time All-Pro and a member of the NFL100 All-Time Team. Although sacks were not an official league statistic throughout his 14-year career, Lilly had one in a Super Bowl VI win over the Dolphins. An Outland Trophy recipient as college football’s best interior lineman with Maryland in 1975, White was a co-MVP of a Super Bowl XII win over the Broncos, along with defensive end Harvey Martin. Sacks were only a league-approved stat for White’s first seven seasons, but the nine-time Pro Bowler and seven-time All-Pro totaled 52 during the regular season and four more during three Super Bowl appearances.
6. (tie) Rayfield Wright, T (Round 7, Pick 182 in 1967) and Larry Allen, G (Round 2, Pick 46 in 1994) - The Cowboys found two of the most steady offensive linemen of their respective eras after the first round. Wright was selected to six straight Pro Bowls from 1971-76, earned three All-Pro nods and won two titles. The 1972 NFC Offensive Lineman of the Year was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Famer in 2006. Allen earned that same honor in 2013, but due to academic issues, his route to the NFL was unconventional compared to other future stars. Allen spent two years at Butte College, a junior college in California. After taking a year off, he spent his final two seasons at Sonoma State before Dallas drafted him midway through the second round in 1994. He was a 10-time Pro Bowler in Dallas, was selected to six straight All-Pro teams and won Super Bowl XXX with the Cowboys in his second season.
5. Tony Dorsett, RB (Round 1, Pick 2 in 1977) - Dorsett was one of the most dominating rushers throughout his collegiate career. He was a three-time All-American who won the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award (best all-around player), Walter Camp Award (best player as voted by head coaches and sports information directors) and a national title with Pittsburgh in 1976. Dorsett ran for at least 1,000 yards in eight of his first nine years, missing the mark only in the strike-shortened 1982 season. The four-time Pro Bowler, 1981 All-Pro and 1977 champion totaled 12,036 yards and 72 touchdowns in his career, which would have led almost every other team besides Dallas. The Hall of Famer also set an NFL record with a 99-yard touchdown run in 1982, which Titans star Derrick Henry tied in 2018.
4. Michael Irvin, WR (Round 1, Pick 11 in 1988) - A flamboyant wideout known as “The Playmaker,” Irvin was a first-team All-American in 1986 and earned second-team honors when Miami won the National Championship the following year. He ranks second in team history with 750 receptions and 11,904 yards, and sits four on Dallas’ all-time list with 65 touchdowns. He was a Pro Bowler earned his only All-Pro honor after leading the NFL with 1,523 yards in 1991, and was also selected to the Pro Bowl the next four years. The Hall of Famer also was a member of three Cowboys title teams in the early 1990s, including Super Bowl XXVII, when he had six catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns. Three years later, Irvin posted his best postseason performance, setting a record with 192 yards in a 1994 NFC Championship Game loss to the 49ers. His career came to an end when he suffered cervical spinal stenosis during a game early in the 1999 season.
3. Emmitt Smith, RB (Round 1, Pick 17 in 1990) - Another of Dallas’ three Hall of Famer offensive superstars from the early 1990s, Smith is the NFL’s all-time leading rusher with 18,355 yards and 164 touchdowns. His resume is one few players can boast: eight Pro Bowls, four All-Pros, four rushing yard titles, three rushing score crowns, 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons and three titles, including an MVP award after a 132-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Bills in Super Bowl XXVIII. Smith was named Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1990 and earned MVP honors in 1993 after posting a league-high 1,486 yards. He also set a league mark with 25 touchdowns in 1995, a record which stood until Priest Holmes scored 27 times in 2003.
2. Roger Staubach, QB (Round 10, Pick 129 in 1964) - While his overall passing numbers would be almost pedestrian in today’s NFL (22,700 yards and 153 touchdowns in 11 seasons), Staubach was one of the best in the game during the 1970s. He was an All-American and the Heisman Trophy winner with Navy in 1963, and he later reached the rank of Lieutenant during the Vietnam War. After his military service, Staubach took over for the ineffective Craig Morton in 1971 and led the Cowboys to wins in their final 10 regular season games, as well as three more in the postseason, including a victory over the Dolphins in Super Bowl VI. The five-time Pro Bowler led the NFL with 23 touchdowns in 1973, and posted seven straight 2,000-yard seasons. He won his second title with a Super Bowl XII win over the Broncos, and played in four overall. Nicknamed “Roger the Dodger” for his rushing abilities and “Captain Comeback” for his fourth-quarter heroics, Staubach was the 1978 Man of the Year and a 1985 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee. After his football career, he ran a successful commercial real estate business for more than 30 years.
1. Troy Aikman, QB (Round 1, Pick 1 in 1989) - Aikman started as a freshman under future Cowboys head coach Barry Switzer at Oklahoma, but broke his leg during the Sooners’ National Championship season in 1985. He transferred and spent the final three years at UCLA, where he was an All-American and a Heisman Trophy finalist in 1988. His selection by new Dallas head coach Jimmy Johnson started the franchise’s quick turnaround. Despite an 0-11 record as a rookie, Aikman and fellow “triplets” Smith and Irvin led the team to the playoffs in 1991. The Cowboys won three titles in four years, with the quarterback earning MVP honors after a 273-yard, four-touchdown performance in a Super Bowl XXVII win over the Bills. Aikman went to six straight Pro Bowls and was the 1997 NFL Man of the Year winner. The 2006 Hall of Famer ranks second in team history with 32,942 yards and 165 touchdowns. Once his playing career ended, he became a color analyst with the NFL on FOX, a position he has held since 2001.
WORST
10. Kevin Brooks, DT (Round 1, Pick 17 in 1985) – The Michigan product totaled just 15½ sacks in six years with Dallas and Detroit, but his spot on this list is mostly due to the disappointment over what could have been. The Cowboys had originally been targeting Mississippi Valley State wide receiver Jerry Rice at this spot, but the 49ers made a trade with the Patriots to swoop in and grab Rice at pick 16.
9. Rod Hill, CB (Round 1, Pick 25 in 1982) - A standout at NAIA school Kentucky State, Hill struggled at both cornerback and kick returner over five seasons with four NFL clubs. After playing three games as a replacement player with the Raiders in 1987, Hill moved on to Canada, where he was a two-time CFL All-Star with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
8. Dennis Homan, WR (Round 1, Pick 20 in 1968) – Homan was an All-American and an Academic All-American with Alabama in 1967, but he struggled in the NFL. He started six games in 1970 before losing his spot to Hayes as the Cowboys lost to the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V. Homan spent two disappointing seasons with the Chiefs before moving on to the World Football League. He helped the Birmingham Americans win the 1974 WFL championship, but his career officially ended when the league folded midway through the 1975 season.
7. Mike Sherrard, WR (Round 1, Pick 18 in 1986) - Homan was the first wide receiver drafted in the first round in team history, and Sherrard, All-Pac-10 honoree with UCLA in 1983, was the second. He played well as a rookie with Dallas, but missed two seasons after he broke his tibia and fibula in 1987 and refractured the tibia the following year. Sherrard signed with San Francisco in 1989, and the team won a title that season while was recovering from the tibia injury. He had his best season with the Giants in 1993, when he posted career-bests with 53 catches, 825 yards, and six touchdowns. Sherrard is currently the head coach at Oaks Christian School in California.
6. Felix Jones, RB (Round 1, Pick 22 in 2008) - Jones was an All-American and the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year at Arkansas in 2007. He continued that success in the NFL, returning a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown as a rookie. However, Jones was underwhelming as a rusher, and was second on Dallas’ depth chart throughout his five years with the club, first behind Marion Barber III, and then behind DeMarco Murray. He spent one year in Pittsburgh, but was out of football after losing his starting spot to Le’Veon Bell.
5. (tie) Taco Charlton, DT (Round 1, Pick 28 in 2017) and Randy Gregory, DE (Round 2, Pick 60 in 2015) - Vidaunte Charlton was given his nickname by his mother. He posted 28 sacks in four seasons with Michigan, including 13½ as a senior in 2016. However, he has just nine sacks in three years as a professional. Charlton lasted just two seasons in Dallas before he was released two games into the 2019 campaign. He signed with Miami, where he produced five sacks and two forced fumbles in 10 games. Gregory had 17½ sacks at Nebraska, but has faced several suspensions with Dallas. He missed the first four games of the 2016 season after violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, then was suspended 10 more games for a second offense later in the year. A third violation cost him the entire 2017 season and, after producing six sacks in 2018, a fourth positive test brought about an indefinite suspension.
4. Morris Claiborne, CB (Round 1, Pick 6 in 2012) - The LSU product was an All-American while earning both the Jim Thorpe Award (given to college football’s best defensive back) and SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors as a junior in 2011. Despite Claiborne scoring just 4 out of 50 on the Wonderlic intelligence test at the NFL Combine, the Cowboys made a trade with the Rams to move up from pick 14 and grab the cornerback. Claiborne missed parts of three seasons with injuries: a jammed knee, dislocated left shoulder and hamstring injury in 2013; a torn patellar tendon the following year and groin and rib injuries in 2016, the same year he suffered a concussion. After two years with the Jets, Claiborne signed with the Chiefs, where he missed the first four games of the 2019 season due to a substance abuse policy violation. He was part of the championship team but was inactive for Super Bowl LIV.
3. David LaFleur, TE (Round 1, Pick 22 in 1997) - The tight end was a high school All-American and a two-time All-SEC selection at LSU. However, a sprained PCL in his right knee, a groin injury and back injuries that dated back to college cut short what could have been a promising career. LaFleur finished with 85 receptions and 12 touchdowns in four seasons with Dallas before he failed a physical in 2001 due to back issues. The Cowboys were doubly disappointed because they chose LaFleur over the other top option, Tony Gonzalez.
2. Bobby Carpenter, LB (Round 1, Pick 18 in 2006) - A member of Ohio State’s 2002 National Championship team as a freshman, Carpenter was selected based on influence from Bill Parcells, who coached his father, Rob, with the Giants in the early 1980s. In seven NFL seasons (four with Dallas), Carpenter had 3½ sacks in 93 games, but he made just 10 starts. After four games with the Patriots in 2010, he earned his MBA in Finance and Strategy from Ohio State. Carpenter is currently a college adjunct professor and works with organizations that focus on child literacy and cancer relief.
1. Shante Carver, DE (Round 1, Pick 23 in 1994) - Carver was a two-time All-American at Arizona State, but his NFL career was a disappointment. He had 11½ sacks in four seasons with the Cowboys, but missed time due to several substance abuse violations. Despite being part of Dallas’ victory in Super Bowl XXX, Carver was released two years later. He was a member of the All-XFL team with the Memphis Maniax in 2001, and earned All-Rookie team honors with the Arena Football League’s Dallas Desperados the following year. Carver retired after three seasons in Dallas and has been the head coach of the Westside Monsoon semi pro team in Phoenix since 2009.
Statistics courtesy of https://www.pro-football-reference.com/
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