1st/2nd round draft picks (2016 - 2019)

NotForLong · Mar 13, 2022

Zeke was the pick that would have brought a championship to the Cowboys but Romo was never given the ball again

When Zeke was drafted Romo was the QB the pick was a gamble but the right pick.

Once the kept the try hard Rookie in . . . it was an idiotic pick

fivetwos · Mar 13, 2022

conner01 said:
Woods had 108 tackles, 3 ints, 2 FF and a sack last year
Total bust lol

Oh he was much better last year after he left.

Yet another indictment of what's going on in Dallas.

He was a notch below acceptable when he was here.

DuncanIso · Mar 13, 2022

Zordon said:
Does this look like a good drafting team to you?

These 8 players are supposed to be the foundation of our team right now. For the upcoming season we have nothing to show for 4 years of premium draft picks.

2016 - Zeke/Jaylon
2017 - Taco/Awuzie
2018 - LVE/Connor Williams
2019 - Amari/Trysten

Bad value (Zeke)
Bad health (Jaylon, LVE)
Bad character (Taco, Trysten)
Bad fits (Awuzie, Amari)
Bad (Williams)

a lot of these players have Pro Bowls.

NFL careers are short.

conner01 · Mar 13, 2022

fivetwos said:
Oh he was much better last year after he left.

Yet another indictment of what's going on in Dallas.

He was a notch below acceptable when he was here.

Maybe players need time and reps to develop
Fans tend to lack patients
They think if a guy is not a star as a rookie you move on
But he’s a prime example of a good player who you replace cheaper
I had no problem not signing him to a second contract but he’s far from a bust and he’s actually a pretty good player which proves my point
Drafts aren’t judged by who you extend but how good a football player they are and he’s a good football player

charron · Mar 13, 2022

Zordon said:
Does this look like a good drafting team to you?

These 8 players are supposed to be the foundation of our team right now. For the upcoming season we have nothing to show for 4 years of premium draft picks.

2016 - Zeke/Jaylon
2017 - Taco/Awuzie
2018 - LVE/Connor Williams
2019 - Amari/Trysten

Bad value (Zeke)
Bad health (Jaylon, LVE)
Bad character (Taco, Trysten)
Bad fits (Awuzie, Amari)
Bad (Williams)

I'm good with the Zeke pick, he was elite for 3 years. I disagree with the extension.

Jaylon was a waste both pick and extension.
LVE was a good pick. Didn't work out but I liked it at the time.
Tand T were reaches.
Both A and A we're good aquititions. But the FO hates CB's and amari can't throw himself the ball.
Williams has been underated. Lots of penalties but still way better than most give him credit for.

ThatJerryKid · Mar 13, 2022

Zordon said:
Does this look like a good drafting team to you?

These 8 players are supposed to be the foundation of our team right now. For the upcoming season we have nothing to show for 4 years of premium draft picks.

2016 - Zeke/Jaylon
2017 - Taco/Awuzie
2018 - LVE/Connor Williams
2019 - Amari/Trysten

Bad value (Zeke)
Bad health (Jaylon, LVE)
Bad character (Taco, Trysten)
Bad fits (Awuzie, Amari)
Bad (Williams)

Your list isn’t great but it doesn’t show the entire picture. We were 12-5 last year with a roster comprised of mostly home grown talent. I know we play in the NFC East and I know we aren’t as talented as some people think, but compare our last 6 draft classes against all other 31 teams and I think the findings will surprise you. We are probably a top 10 drafting team over that period when you factor in the entire picture.

75boyz · Mar 13, 2022

charron said:
I'm good with the Zeke pick, he was elite for 3 years. I disagree with the extension.

Jaylon was a waste both pick and extension.
LVE was a good pick. Didn't work out but I liked it at the time.
Tand T were reaches.
Both A and A we're good aquititions. But the FO hates CB's and amari can't throw himself the ball.
Williams has been underated. Lots of penalties but still way better than most give him credit for.

I saw their production as exactly the same and your reasoning was spot on.

Especially the Zeke thing. My opinion was timing specific too.

Such as:
with THAT 2016 - 2018 oline and offensive identity,, I thought Zeke was the right pick for it and played at an elite level as well.

BUT...!as you so rightly said here, I hated that extension and would NOT have caved to that contract.

I'm totally with ya on the rest of your player breakdown too.

Great post.

IrishAnto · Mar 13, 2022

conner01 said:
Maybe players need time and reps to develop
Fans tend to lack patients
They think if a guy is not a star as a rookie you move on
But he’s a prime example of a good player who you replace cheaper
I had no problem not signing him to a second contract but he’s far from a bust and he’s actually a pretty good player which proves my point
Drafts aren’t judged by who you extend but how good a football player they are and he’s a good football player

But the “fans” didn’t get rid of him.
He may not be a bust for his current team but that team isn’t the Cowboys.
If you don’t use free agency properly then you need to draft well and identify players that still can improve and resign them.
We miss too often to maintain a good team for more than a year.

buybuydandavis · Mar 13, 2022

SeanLee50 said:
Out of all of those picks, Awuzie is the only one I wanted to pick.

2016 - Jalen Ramsey, Myles Jack

As a Romo Window pick, the Zeke pick was ok by me.

But then the Jaylon pick was *not* a Romo Window pick, but a clear future pick.

But having made the Romo Window pick with 4, we then didn't let Romo have a go of it. And that was the clearly the peak year for Zeke and our oline. Never the same again.

Such a muddle. Looks like strategy by Committee, with Jerry throwing bones to whoever squawks loudest.

In hindsight, 2016 was a Romo/Zeke/Oline Window. And we didn't take our shot with Romo. Sad.

Montanalo · Mar 13, 2022

Outlaw Heroes said:
It was a horrible move (surpassed only by giving him a second contract). And it was predictably horrible. The best CB in the league was a far better bet and many of us were saying it at the time. CB is a premium position with greater longevity.

Meanwhile Zeke was 'the best RB in the league' for about 2 seasons. Then he was supplanted by the guy we could have had in the 2nd round.

Even it he was the best back in the league for multiple year's running, I would still argue you don't spend a premium 1st round pick on a RB... QB, LT, Edge, and maybe CB, but not RB

conner01 · Mar 13, 2022

IrishAnto said:
But the “fans” didn’t get rid of him.
He may not be a bust for his current team but that team isn’t the Cowboys.
If you don’t use free agency properly then you need to draft well and identify players that still can improve and resign them.
We miss too often to maintain a good team for more than a year.

So you should give draft picks second contracts
Can’t really say you shouldn’t sign guys then complain when they go other places and continue to grow as players

john van brocklin · Mar 13, 2022

Zordon said:
Does this look like a good drafting team to you?

These 8 players are supposed to be the foundation of our team right now. For the upcoming season we have nothing to show for 4 years of premium draft picks.

2016 - Zeke/Jaylon
2017 - Taco/Awuzie
2018 - LVE/Connor Williams
2019 - Amari/Trysten

Bad value (Zeke)
Bad health (Jaylon, LVE)
Bad character (Taco, Trysten)
Bad fits (Awuzie, Amari)
Bad (Williams)

Hard to argue your point

Zman5 · Mar 13, 2022

All from JG era. This is why I don't get people who said JG was good at talent eval and should have been moved to the FO. Most of the defensive players drafted under his watch were atrocious.

Look at the last two drafts under Fat Mike.

Lamb/Diggs
Parsons/Joseph

We need to wait and see how they turn out in few years, but it looks much better than the list from JG era so far.

Risen Star · Mar 13, 2022

Outlaw Heroes said:
That 4th round pick in 2016 probably hurt us more than all of these picks combined, precisely because he is considered the foundation.

Enough of your Charles Tapper hate. You don't hit on every pick.

Whyjerry · Mar 13, 2022

Can we just stop the narrative that this team drafts well. They have been terrible.

CT Dal Fan · Mar 13, 2022

Big_D said:
That definitely improved in 20 and 21.

Exactly, CeeDee Lamb, Trevon Diggs, and Micah Parsons. And there's still time for Kelvin Joseph.

CT Dal Fan · Mar 13, 2022

Whyjerry said:
Can we just stop the narrative that this team drafts well. They have been terrible.

Terrible is inaccurate. Even the players listed all contributed heavily (except Taco) even though some years after the fact they are no longer at that level. And the past two years have brough Lamb, Diggs, Parsons, Odighizuwa, Gallimore, etc..

plasticman · Mar 13, 2022

It doesn't matter how well the Cowboys scouting department analyzes college players prior to the draft. They do not make the final decision.

This team is run by amateurs.

In fact, recall that the Cowboys best player on both sides were not the intended draft target but the guys they had to settle for once their targets were taken off the board.

Whyjerry · Mar 14, 2022

CT Dal Fan said:
Terrible is inaccurate. Even the players listed all contributed heavily (except Taco) even though some years after the fact they are no longer at that level. And the past two years have brough Lamb, Diggs, Parsons, Odighizuwa, Gallimore, etc..

Last season does look good. Look at the players. How many playoff wins?

Batman1980 · Mar 14, 2022

conner01 said:
Some positions are just not first round positions
A RB is one of them
On top of that a RB is the last position I would give a second contract at a high price
Drafting Zeke to me was a mistake but we compounded that mistake when we extended him
When he didn’t want to play on the 5th year option we should have traded him right then
Many teams have proven you can get effective RB’s outside of the first

The two best rookie RB's last year were Javonte Williams and Eli Mitchell. Neither were 1st round picks.

1st/2nd round draft picks (2016 - 2019)

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