Number one busts galore, plentiful in Cowboys history
1978 DE
Larry Bethea, Bust galore
1979 Center
Robert Shaw, one knee injury in 1980 destroyed him
1980, no #1, traded for John Dutton
1981 OT
Howard Richards, did nothing for years
1982 CB
Rod Hill, worst player ever selected #1
1985 DT/DE
Kevin Brooks, Big Ten defensive MVP, monster bust
1987 D
T Dan Noonan, never better than average despite great athletic skills
plus
'84 # 1 LB
Cannon career ending injury first year,
'86 #1 WR, Skinny, brittle,
Mike Sherrard, kept breaking bones
1973-1977, great Cowboy drafts with trades giving them stars, Too Tall Jones, Randy White, Tony Dorsett; impact players, Billy Joe Dupree, Harvey Martin, the Dirty Dozen of 1975, then disaster for a decade:
1978-1987, Gil Brandt, Texas Schramm and Tom Landry's got senile and drove the team into basement. Unforgivable abysmal drafting record. Unpardonable. This is an historical fact. The worst 10 years in Cowboy drafting history.
In 1988, team only had 5 players, 1988 rookies Irvin, Norton; Hershel Walker (future draft pick who was in USFL before it folded), Nate Newton and Mark Tuinei, the latter two free agents; So 1988 had no drafted players of any value who came before 1988. Jimmy Johnson cleaned house.
1983- Drafted Jim Jeffcoat over Dan Marino (though Jeffcoat had a very good career)
1995 draft was awful. Traded out of first round and look at the players drafted:
2 Sherman Williams Alabama, backup to Emmit, who fumbled too much
2 Kendell Watkins TE one of the worst picks ever
2 Shane Hannah G
Michigan St. one of the worst picks ever
3 Charlie Williams DB
Bowling Green Never started
4 Eric Bjornson TE Decent player
4 Alundis Brice DB
Mississippi
4 Linc Harden LB
Oklahoma St.
5 Edward Hervey WR 0 0 0
USC
5 Dana Howard LB 2 1995
7 Oscar Sturgis
1997
TE David LaFleur, cost us a 1 and a 3, slow as an offensive linemen, always injured
1998- Drafted Greg Ellis over Randy Moss.
Boys had no more defenseive ends, as Haley retired as did LDE Tony Tolbert. Moss had serious character issues and after Irvin's sordid affairs, team wanted clean player.
Do not forget: the Cowboys dealt their 2000 and 2001 No. 1 picks to Seattle for WR Joey Galloway.
2005- Drafted Marcus Spears over Aaron Rodgers
(Parcells loved Spears over Ware, and also loved Anthony Fasano who cost Boys 2007 playoff game.
2009- Traded out of second round; could have drafted LeSean McCoy
2017-
Drafted Taco Charlton over T.J. Watt
Horrible, stay away from Michigan D Linemen, as Kevin Brooks was also a Michigan waste.
