Why did we draft Zeke so high if RB is not needed to win a SB?

[Beast_from_East]

We drafted Zeke with a top 5 pick because we felt he could be f'ing Superman behind this offensive line. Well, we were right, Zeke has been as good as advertised on the field. If not for the suspension, he would have lead the league in rushing every single year since being drafted. Now I am just talking about on the field here, he has been everything we though he would be and then some, he is a flat out beast and the best RB in the entire NFL.

Now Zeke aint stupid and he has realized that if he is the best RB in the NFL, then he needs to be the highest paid RB in the NFL. This should not have come as a surprise to anybody, its human nature. If you are the best in your profession, then naturally you want to be compensated accordingly. Now some will say he signed a contract and that is your word of honor, but we all know contracts in the NFL are ripped up and redone all the time. Teams renegotiate contracts, ask players to take pay cuts, have players restructure, ect….so nobody should get their panties in a bunch over Zeke wanting more money before his rookie contract is up. I mean, it goes both ways, Hurns was just cut even though he still had one year left on his original contract.

So this all boils down to one thing, we did we draft a RB using a top 5 pick thinking he would be the best RB in the league if we were not prepared to make him the highest paid RB in the league? Serious question.​

 

[Bob-Lillys-War]

 

[SeaTurtle1]

The word at the time was we wanted Bosa but San Diego took him. Instead of trading down like we should have, they took Zeke.

 

[Oz-of-Cowboy-Country]

Zeke's holdout is problematic to Dallas because we have nearly 36 contracts ending at the end of this season. Including four star players. (Jones,Dak,Smith,and Cooper) That's a lot of signing bonuses to pay out in one year. So, in my opinion, it's not that they dont want to make him the highest paid. It's just the timing is all wrong.

 

[Pompey-Cowboy]

Zeke's holdout is problematic to Dallas because we have nearly 36 contracts ending at the end of this season. Including four star players. (Jones,Dak,Smith,and Cooper) That's a lot of signing bonuses to pay out in one year. So, in my opinion, it's not that they dont want to make him the highest paid. It's just the timing is all wrong.

Bingo. The FO can't be held to ransom by everyone and Zeke, as good as he is, plays a position that is maybe arguably easier to fill (to a lesser skill level but good enough)

 

[Wolfpack]

You are assuming the FO had a plan when they made a decision. That would be an incorrect assumption.

 

[Pompey-Cowboy]

You are assuming the FO had a plan when they made a decision. That would be an incorrect assumption.

It would be harsh to suggest that they could know where we would be now, 3 years ago. It's not like Dak was drafted to immediately be the QB1 after all. The 'plan' was that he would be a project backing up the QB 1 until about now. If we didn't have the issue of the QB and the RB being up for huge contracts at the same time, our current issues go away.

 

[Idgit]

It’s a good question. Drafting Zeke at #4 overall was a mistake.

 

[buybuydandavis]

We drafted Zeke with a top 5 pick because we felt he could be f'ing Superman behind this offensive line. Well, we were right, Zeke has been as good as advertised on the field. If not for the suspension, he would have lead the league in rushing every single year since being drafted. Now I am just talking about on the field here, he has been everything we though he would be and then some, he is a flat out beast and the best RB in the entire NFL.

Now Zeke aint stupid and he has realized that if he is the best RB in the NFL, then he needs to be the highest paid RB in the NFL. This should not have come as a surprise to anybody, its human nature. If you are the best in your profession, then naturally you want to be compensated accordingly. Now some will say he signed a contract and that is your word of honor, but we all know contracts in the NFL are ripped up and redone all the time. Teams renegotiate contracts, ask players to take pay cuts, have players restructure, ect….so nobody should get their panties in a bunch over Zeke wanting more money before his rookie contract is up. I mean, it goes both ways, Hurns was just cut even though he still had one year left on his original contract.

So this all boils down to one thing, we did we draft a RB using a top 5 pick thinking he would be the best RB in the league if we were not prepared to make him the highest paid RB in the league? Serious question.​

Zeke was drafted to take advantage of a perceived Romo window. In even the best case scenario, Romo would be gone before Zeke needed a new contract. We'd probably expected to have to blow up the team post Romo.

 

[OmerV]

We drafted Zeke with a top 5 pick because we felt he could be f'ing Superman behind this offensive line. Well, we were right, Zeke has been as good as advertised on the field. If not for the suspension, he would have lead the league in rushing every single year since being drafted. Now I am just talking about on the field here, he has been everything we though he would be and then some, he is a flat out beast and the best RB in the entire NFL.

Now Zeke aint stupid and he has realized that if he is the best RB in the NFL, then he needs to be the highest paid RB in the NFL. This should not have come as a surprise to anybody, its human nature. If you are the best in your profession, then naturally you want to be compensated accordingly. Now some will say he signed a contract and that is your word of honor, but we all know contracts in the NFL are ripped up and redone all the time. Teams renegotiate contracts, ask players to take pay cuts, have players restructure, ect….so nobody should get their panties in a bunch over Zeke wanting more money before his rookie contract is up. I mean, it goes both ways, Hurns was just cut even though he still had one year left on his original contract.

So this all boils down to one thing, we did we draft a RB using a top 5 pick thinking he would be the best RB in the league if we were not prepared to make him the highest paid RB in the league? Serious question.​

It’s true teams redo or extend contracts often, although it’s less common when the player has 2 years left on a contract like Zeke has. The Hurns deal, however, is not an example of the Cowboys not honoring a contract. The contract was only guaranteed for the first year, and Hurns was paid for that, and the Cowboys had the option to release him before this season and save money and cap space, Accordingly, the team acted within terms of the contract and carried through on its obligations under the contract.

 

[John813]

IMO the Cowboys were thinking short term with that pick.
Romo was coming back in 2016 "healthy" and Dez was coming off that foot injury.

Zeke was that can't miss instant production. IMO I think they were gunshy on taking another CB that high.

Edit I think the thing holding up the contract is guarantees and what can void certain guarantees. I think SJ may be treating Zeke as another Dez and wants an out if he goofs up again.

 

[Cowboysheelsreds053]

IMO the Cowboys were thinking short term with that pick.
Romo was coming back in 2016 "healthy" and Dez was coming off that foot injury.

Zeke was that can't miss instant production. IMO I think they were gunshy on taking another CB that high.

Edit I think the thing holding up the contract is guarantees and what can void certain guarantees. I think SJ may be treating Zeke as another Dez and wants an out if he goofs up again.

The Mo C. draft pick had them gun shy, so they went with the safe bet.

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

Romo had 5 more years..another FO miscalculation. Should have been looking for our next QB. Dak was just an accident.Probably promised Zeke one thing but after they went out and got Cooper the numbers changed.

 

[John813]

Romo had 5 more years..another FO miscalculation. Should have been looking for our next QB. Dak was just an accident.Probably promised Zeke one thing but after they went out and got Cooper the numbers changed.

He was at least option #3 that draft. Be glad Elway is just as bad at evaluating QB's and was willing to offer more to move up for Lynch.

 

[Bob-Lillys-War]

WHY DID WE GET JAYLON SMITH, WHEN WE SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN DEION JONES ?

 

[OmerV]

Romo had 5 more years..another FO miscalculation. Should have been looking for our next QB. Dak was just an accident.Probably promised Zeke one thing but after they went out and got Cooper the numbers changed.

I wouldn’t call Dak an accident. After all, the team did consciously choose him when their pick came around in the 4th round. But there was good fortune in that he was obviously a long shot the Cowboys didn’t really expect would become Romo’s replacement.

 

[Sydla]

Because the Jones' panicked and misread the 2015 season.

After the 2014 season when they essentially held firm on what they wanted to pay Murray, they argued that they didn't or wouldn't invest a lot of money or resources into the TB position because their analysis showed RBs tend to essentially deteriorate at a certain age and after certain use. So they wouldn't budge on Murray.

Then the 2015 season happened, they thought they needed that running game to pair with Romo and the rest is history. They mistakenly thought that what was missing from the team after 2015 was a running game but that really wasn't their problem.

 

[Sydla]

I wouldn’t call Dak an accident. After all, the team did consciously choose him when their pick came around in the 4th round. But there was good fortune in that he was obviously a long shot the Cowboys didn’t really expect would become Romo’s replacement.

The good fortune came in the fact that the Oakland Raiders went stupid and took Connor Cook before us in the 4th round.

 

[Rayman70]

calm down guys. It wouldn't be Dallas if not for the Drama. lol.. All is well.

 

[Cowboysheelsreds053]

The good fortune came in the fact that the Oakland Raiders went stupid and took Connor Cook before us in the 4th round.

2 good things happened that draft and this is one and the other like someone posted above, John Elway not being a HOF at picking QB's in the draft and we are GLAD.