How Good Have the Dallas Cowboys Been at Drafting in the First Round? | Part One 2007-2013
With the NFL draft only a few months away and the 2022 NFL season completed, football fans around the globe have been focusing all their energy towards the draft. Building a future team relies heavily on the coveted first round picks a team holds.
This got me wondering, “how good have the Dallas Cowboys been at drafting in the first round”. Let's take a look back at the last fifteen years and see the success rate Jerrah and his war room have had.
2007 / Round 1 / Pick 26: Anthony Spencer, LB, Purdue
Grade: C+
Spencer never lived up to his Hall of Fame (congrats DWARE!) counterpart Ware, starting 67 games out of a possible 104, recording 33 sacks and 53 TFL’s.
His best year came in 2012, which happened to be his only Pro Bowl appearance. Taking down the QB 11 times, or 33% of his career sack number.
Suffering a major injury late in his career, the Cowboys decided to move on from him a season later.
He may have not lived up to his first round spot Jerrah hoped for, but was a serviceable player for Dallas’ D for over four years.
2008 / Round 1 / Pick 22: Felix Jones, RB, Arkansas
Grade: D
This is the type of draft selections teams dream of each year. Having two first round picks is such a big deal and doesn’t happen often. In fact, the Cowboys have only had multiple draft picks in the first round five other times (1974, 1975, 1991, 1992, 2005).
Somehow the front office flubbed it up.
Most will remember Felix being the rookie who was hazed by the team on Hard Knocks, saying he looked like he was in his fifties.
Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be the worst part of Jones’ career. Although Jones’ had spurts of success, he never really could stay consistent.
Rushing for a measly 11 TDs and 2,728 yards over a span of five years. In big D that won’t cut it as a RB expecting to dazzle right from day one.
Something that makes this selection sting more, there were six backs taken after Jones who all had more success in the NFL:
2008 / Round 1 / Pick 25: Mike Jenkins, CB, South Florida
Grade: C
Luckily, Dallas didn’t completely botch the whole draft. Right? Well, not exactly.
Three picks later, Wade Phillips had his eyes on Mike Jenkins, the CB from South Florida. Starting 48 of 71 possible games, Jenkins was a pro bowl player in 2009, his second year in the league.
Compiling eight interceptions over his five years with the Cowboys, Jenkins was okay, just not reliable. After his pro bowl season, he was ranked the worst CB in football in 2010, although the Cowboys total defense was more likely the reason for this.
Jenkins' final year with the star on his helmet saw him fall from grace, losing the starting role and only starting in two games. He would go on to play for Oakland and Tampa Bay before hanging the cleats up for good.
2010 / Round 1 / Pick 24: Dez Bryant, WR, Oklahoma State
Grade: A
DEZ CAUGHT IT!!!!! One of my top five favourite Cowboys of all time, the heart and soul of Dallas for the 2010s. I don’t have much bad to say about this pick, or Dez Bryant.
Setting franchise records with 73 receiving touchdowns, passing Hall of Famers Michael Irvin (65) and Bob Hayes (71) Cowboys Nation grew accustomed to “Throwing up the X”.
Being named to the 2014 first team all pro team while leading the league with 16 touchdowns would be Dez’s best season, unfortunately it was also the “Dez Caught It” season.
That wouldn’t phase him in scorching NFL defenses on his way to becoming the Cowboys’ fifth all time receiver with 7,459 yards. Injuries, loss of speed, and never being the most dynamic route runner ended up cutting this beast's career short.
I will say this: I would take ten Dez Bryant’s on a Cowboys team any day.
2011 / Round 1 / Pick 9: Tyron Smith, OT, USC
Grade: A+
Coming in as the first player on the list still on the active roster (as of now), Tyron Smith has been a dominant force on the field since he was drafted in the top ten of the 2011 draft.
Smith started his illustrious career at RT as a 21-year-old athletic beast. It did not take him long to be the main stay on the Cowboys line and a leader, taking over the left tackle spot in only his second year. Stacking up eight pro bowls, two first team all pro selections, 2010s all decade team and what seems like a million pancake blocks,
Tyron was the first of many talented offensive linemen that Dallas would end up drafting in the next decade.
Now entering his thirteenth year in the NFL, injuries and cap hits have been the talk of late. Playing in only 17 games of a possible 50 in his last three seasons was a big enough scare for the Cowboys to select his future replacement Tyler Smith (funny coincidence) in the first round of last year's draft.
All aside, Tyron has put together a Hall of Fame type career and will always be recognized as a true professional on and off the field.
2012 / Round 1 / Pick 6: Morris Claiborne, LSU
Grade: F
Fans (including myself) love when their team trades up into the top ten picks of the first round. Especially to take one of the best talents in the entire draft. Dallas traded their 14th and 45th picks to jump ahead eight picks and select the stud CB from LSU.
Unfortunately, it just never worked out for either the Cowboys or Claiborne. Injuries seemed to plague his tenure and his first five years in the NFL were, well, underwhelming.
Starting 43 games out of a possible 80 is not what you want from the 6th overall player that was acquired by giving up draft capital. Being benched in his fifth year after only recording an alarming three interceptions, Morris decided to move on from Dallas in free agency.
Joining the Jets next, Claiborne was decent, just never met the expectations of a top ten pick. He ended up finishing his career with a Super Bowl ring while being on the Kansas Chiefs roster.
People will point to Morris being the biggest first round bust the Cowboys have drafted in the last thirty years.
2013 / Round 1 / Pick 31: Travis Frederick, C, Wisconsin
Grade: A+
THE BEARD!
What an amazing pick at 31. I’d argue this was the spot where Cowboys Nation started thinking “Ok, maybe the front office knows how to draft OL”. Frederick was on his way to a Hall of Fame career by starting every game in the first five seasons, four of which he was named to the NFC pro bowl roster and making first team all pro in 2016.
Sadly, Travis was blindsided in year six, being diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome. He would sit out all of 2018, before returning in 2019 winning AP Comeback Player of the Year and being nominated to his fifth pro bowl.
Following an amazing comeback story and year, Frederick would suddenly retire in the off season prior to the 2020 season. I have no doubts in my mind that the BEARD would have been in Canton had he continued his career.
