plasticman
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The NFL's first 7-round draft was in 1994, which is perfect for these comparisons because it encompasses a specific era. Besides all of them being 7-round drafts, the person making the decisions was Jerry Jones & committee. I used 2018 as the cutoff because the seasons 2019-2024 are incomplete because many of the draft picks are still playing. I expect both 2020 and 2021 to continue to build points.
I used a point system of adding games played, an extra point for starting, an extra point for the games in which a player was a Pro Bowler that season and then an additional point for each game they played in a season where they made 1st team All Pro.
For example, a player that started every game and made the Pro Bowl and was a 1st team All Pro would get 17 points in each category, giving him 68 points for the season. A special teamer that played in every game but was not a starter would get 17 points, etc.
I then added up all points for each player drafted that season and ranked each season.
All points are counted regardless of the team they ended up playing for.
The following seasons were the top 5
I used a point system of adding games played, an extra point for starting, an extra point for the games in which a player was a Pro Bowler that season and then an additional point for each game they played in a season where they made 1st team All Pro.
For example, a player that started every game and made the Pro Bowl and was a 1st team All Pro would get 17 points in each category, giving him 68 points for the season. A special teamer that played in every game but was not a starter would get 17 points, etc.
I then added up all points for each player drafted that season and ranked each season.
All points are counted regardless of the team they ended up playing for.
The following seasons were the top 5
1. 2005 - No surprise, the great defensive draft that gave them almost a whole front 7, which included DeMarcus Ware, Marcus Spears, Chris Canty, Kevin Burnett, and Jay Ratlif They also benefited from RB Marion Barber. They racked up 5 1st team All-Pro and 15 Pro Bowls 2. 2003 - Almost a one-man show with Jason Witten's 11 Pro Bowls and 2 1st team All-Pro. However, that draft was also aided by a Terrence Newman's 15 seasons as a starter with 2 Pro Bowls 3. 1998 - Greg Ellis and Flozell Adams, both starters for 12 seasons with a total of 5 Pro Bowls. Interestingly, the draft got a boost from players the Cowboys cut who went on to start for 2-3 seasons on other teams, Michael Meyers, Oliver Ross and Izell Reece 4. 2014 - Zack Martin and DeMarcus Lawrence team up for 13 pro Bowls and 7 1st team All-Pro. 5. 2016 - Four players, Dak, Zeke, Anthony Brown and Maliek Collins produced 25 starting seasons....and counting. Interestingly, Maliek Collins has the most starting seasons with 9. The bottom 5: 5. 2012 - Morris Claiborne, their #6 overall pick. Their best player in this draft was Tyrone Crawford. Enough said. 4. 2001 - Their top scorer was 5th round pick C Matt Lehr. Yeah, it was that bad. Combined seasons started was six. 3. 2009 - Terrible and embarrassing. They drafted 12 players and ended up with a combined 1 seasons starting. That one season belonged to TE John Phillips when the Cowboys listed two TE starters. 2. 1995 - This was Jerry Jones's first draft without Jimmy Johnson or his prep work. Jimmy had already laid the groundwork for the 1994 draft before he quit. The scout that discovered Larry Allen was one of Jimmy's scouts from Miami. Jimmy was going to draft Larry Allen, Jerry plagiarized his homework and credits himself to this day for Allen's discovery. Anyway, the 1995 draft produced three 2nd round picks....with zero starting seasons. the only two starting seasons came from 4th round pick TE Eric Bjornsen 1. 2000 - Absolute worse ever. Fortunately for Jerry, that entire preseason was well documented in the inaugural season of Hard Knocks. It would have made for a brilliant comedy if it wasn't actually true. It wasn't cap management or the very poor coaching that was the #1 reasons for their inability to rebuild in the early 2000, although they both are tied at a very close 2nd. Their drafts were utterly horrendous. The 2000 and 2001 drafts had already been sabotaged by Jerry when he gave up both #1 picks for Joey Galloway, who was promptly lost for the season after the opening game. In 2000 the Cowboys drafted 5 players. Their top 3 players never started a single season. In fact none of the three participated in 20 career games, even on special teams. Their top player, Duane Goodrich lasted a season and a half before he killed someone on the side of a road while repairing his vehicle. Goodrich never even realized he killed someone. Considering his total lack of focus on the field, I believe him. Complete Draft Ranking (1994-2018) Rank _ Year _ Score 1 _ 2005 _ 1794 2 _ 2003 _ 1646 3 _ 1998 _ 1467 4 _ 2014 _ 1336 5 _ 2016 _ 1314 6 _ 2011 _ 1136 7 _ 2008 _ 1101 8 _ 2002 _ 1064 9 _ 1994 _ 1064 10 _ 2007 _ 945 11 _ 2018 _ 930 12 _ 2004 _ 841 13 _ 2006 _ 829 14 _ 2010 _ 810 15 _ 1999 _ 809 16 _ 2015 _ 806 17 _ 2017 _ 800 18 _ 2013 _ 764 19 _ 1997 _ 756 20 _ 1996 _ 656 21 _ 2012 _ 650 22 _ 2001 _ 438 23 _ 2009 _ 328 24 _ 1995 _ 315 25 _ 2000 _ 224 |
