2012 draft beginning to look like 2009

[Zimmy Lives]

Fans have no idea what level of play to expect from top-10 pick. Those guys aren't all locks by any stretch. No doubt, Claiborne has not met expectations. Neither for the #6 pick in the draft where he was supposed to be a relative value, or as the best defensive player overall that he was purported to be. If you get a Terrence Newman from your pick, you should be doing backflips. It doesn't matter that fans might expect more.

From Claiborne's draft alone, that top-10 included Trent Richardson, Justin Blackmon, Mark Barron, and Ryan Tannehill. Throw in RGIII for fun if you're talking about questionable picks. Those picks aren't locks by any stretch.

And Mo still has a very real opportunity to deliver on much of his promise. If he's not a shut down guy and never lives up to what we gave up to get him, we have to live with that, but he can still be a productive young player for us for a long time, starting this season. Fans just need to simmer their expectations a lot and get their heads around the fact that he's been disappointing.

That is the key, Idgit. That is the key. He can still become a productive player.

 

[KingintheNorth]

This can be said about every draft but still...

Here's what could have been:
1(14) Michael Brockers DT LSU - most likely starter at DT
2(45) Bobby Wagner LB Utah State - most likely starter at MLB (Sean Lee moves to WLB)
3(81) Nick Foles QB Arizona - QB of the future
4a(113) Brandon Boykin CB Georgia - most likely starting CB or Nickelback.
4b(135) Josh Chapman DT Alabama - possible starter at DT
5(152) George Iloka S Boise State - most likely starter at SS
6(186) James Hanna TE Oklahoma - still a good pick here
7(222) Vontaze Burfict LB Arizona State - most likely starter at SLB

Imagine this current defense with Brockers, Wagner, Boykin, Chapman, Iloka, and Burfict.
The swagger of Wagner, Burfict, and Iloka alone would be a welcomed addition to this lifeless defense.

We'd miss out on Mo Claiborne, Tyrone Crawford, Matt Johnson, Kyle Wilber, Danny Coale, and Caleb McSurdy so basically not much.

So exactly like 2009, the decisions made in the 2012 draft will set this franchise back years. Wish those responsible had an ounce of accountability.

 

[foofighters]

Starts with trading up to get Morris Claiborne, something that most thought we have been a homerun draft choice.

Even then I was a bit puzzled when they drafted Tyrone Crawford, who seemed like he didn't have the experience or the talent to be a 3rd round draft pick, but was considered raw with a lot of upside. Switch to the 4-3, and the inability for this front office to make a decision on where to play him has been mindboggling.

Kyle Wilber is threatening for a starting position, but I could just as easily seem him cut in a year. Another failed player position story from the 3-4 to 4-3 move. It seems like they had no plan for these players when they made this decision.

Matt Johnson, glass bust

Danny Coale.... still open... never materialized into a player

James Hanna.... a huge mystery as to why this guy could never be utilized to the best of his ability, or maybe we just made too much of his talents or lack there of.

Caleb McSurdy... no idea why they drafted this kid... was a terrible draft choice even in the 7th round. This guy was slower than Bradie James...

Not a single starter among them...

it's time to let 2009 go...

 

[TimHortons]

This can be said about every draft but still...

Here's what could have been:
1(14) Michael Brockers DT LSU - most likely starter at DT
2(45) Bobby Wagner LB Utah State - most likely starter at MLB (Sean Lee moves to WLB)
3(81) Nick Foles QB Arizona - QB of the future
4a(113) Brandon Boykin CB Georgia - most likely starting CB or Nickelback.
4b(135) Josh Chapman DT Alabama - possible starter at DT
5(152) George Iloka S Boise State - most likely starter at SS
6(186) James Hanna TE Oklahoma - still a good pick here
7(222) Vontaze Burfict LB Arizona State - most likely starter at SLB

Imagine this current defense with Brockers, Wagner, Boykin, Chapman, Iloka, and Burfict.
The swagger of Wagner, Burfict, and Iloka alone would be a welcomed addition to this lifeless defense.

We'd miss out on Mo Claiborne, Tyrone Crawford, Matt Johnson, Kyle Wilber, Danny Coale, and Caleb McSurdy so basically not much.

So exactly like 2009, the decisions made in the 2012 draft will set this franchise back years. Wish those responsible had an ounce of accountability.

Ok, I get where you're coming from, but it's just way too simply to just cherry pick all the players who have turned out well and say we should have picked them. We definitely should have gotten at least a couple of them, with that I agree, but to play "what-if" if we had drafted all of those guys is a bit unfair. No other team drafted all those guys either, so it wasn't just us.

 

[KingintheNorth]

it's time to let 2009 go...

The philosophy and brain trust behind the 2009 draft is one of the main reasons for our defensive depth issues now. Letting go would be easier if the team actually learned from it, but they didn't.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

Fans have no idea what level of play to expect from top-10 pick. Those guys aren't all locks by any stretch. No doubt, Claiborne has not met expectations. Neither for the #6 pick in the draft where he was supposed to be a relative value, or as the best defensive player overall that he was purported to be. If you get a Terrence Newman from your pick, you should be doing backflips. It doesn't matter that fans might expect more.

From Claiborne's draft alone, that top-10 included Trent Richardson, Justin Blackmon, Mark Barron, and Ryan Tannehill. Throw in RGIII for fun if you're talking about questionable picks. Those picks aren't locks by any stretch.

And Mo still has a very real opportunity to deliver on much of his promise. If he's not a shut down guy and never lives up to what we gave up to get him, we have to live with that, but he can still be a productive young player for us for a long time, starting this season. Fans just need to simmer their expectations a lot and get their heads around the fact that he's been disappointing.

Is that what it has come to? We are comparing our draft to the drafts of the Browns, Jags, Commanders, Buccanners etc....think about that for a second! I can't say I blame you....if you have forgotten....but we are Dallas!!!!! And we did not become Dallas wallowing in the muck with teams like the Browns etc.....but we have BECOME comparable to those teams because we have run our organization like a bottom feeder for almost 2 decades. We moved up to get Mo...and based on our inability to operate like a competent football organization....missing on a pick that high is hard for us to recover from...which I guess is WHY we were drafting that high in the first place...and WHY we are comparing ourselves with those aforementioend teams. And for the record...I don't think we are as bad as them...but the results after 20 years does not paint a pretty picture!

 

[Idgit]

Is that what it has come to? We are comparing our draft to the drafts of the Browns, Jags, Commanders, Buccanners etc....think about that for a second! I can't say I blame you....if you have forgotten....but we are Dallas!!!!! And we did not become Dallas wallowing in the muck with teams like the Browns etc.....but we have BECOME comparable to those teams because we have run our organization like a bottom feeder for almost 2 decades. We moved up to get Mo...and based on our inability to operate like a competent football organization....missing on a pick that high is hard for us to recover from...which I guess is WHY we were drafting that high in the first place...and WHY we are comparing ourselves with those aforementioend teams. And for the record...I don't think we are as bad as them...but the results after 20 years does not paint a pretty picture!

I think you're probably serious here, but, of course we need to compare our success relative to the rest of the league. We're not going to be magically able to pick better players than everybody else. What we need to do is develop them better and have a staff in place that can put better schemes on the field. Then maximize the selections we get so that we have more opportunities to find players who will work out. That means moving down more often than moving up (though I don't mind small moves upward if we're targeting someone we feel strongly about).

In Claiborne's case, I think his issues have been predominantly two things. One: he wasn't strong enough in college to play his style of play against bigger WRs in the NFL. This fact *should* have been known coming out of the draft process, and either we did and just planned on him getting stronger, or we didn't and we messed up. And, two: he's just been hurt in camp too much to really get the defense down the way he needed to.
That said, he's not a bad player. He's an inconsistent one. Fans here are in a rush to call him a bust because that's what fans do, but he just wasn't the walk-on difference maker we hoped he was. That doesn't mean he can't develop into a really good CB. Most players who become good have to develop. It just means it might take him half his rookie contract to get to the place where we expected him to be day one.

 

[Zordon]

This getting ridiculous. Three years after the 09 draft, there wasn't a single contributor from it. Not. A. Single. Contributor. This year, we'll have at least FOUR contributors from the 2012 NFL draft class, three of which will likely be starters: Mo, Crawford, Leary, and Wilbur. Oh, and go back and look at the first round of the 2012 NFL draft -- it's mostly garbage. 2012 was certainly no '05 class, but to compare it to 2009 shows a severe lack of knowledge regarding the draft.

LOL so now we're happy with contributors? Somebody should tell St. Louis to stop complaining about the money and resources spend on Sam Bradford b/c he's "contributed" for 4 years.

 

[TheRomoSexual]

LOL so now we're happy with contributors? Somebody should tell St. Louis to stop complaining about the money and resources spend on Sam Bradford b/c he's "contributed" for 4 years.

I'm sorry you have such difficulty with reading comprehension.

 

[BIGDen]

It's starting to look weak, but 2009? Bit of anExaggeration. How many games were collectively started by that group? Probably less than Claiborne started in 2012 alone.

We'll see how Crawford pans out. Gotta remember he's coming off of a major injury. The rest looks like garbage, but 2009 was worst case scenario.

His draft is closer to 06 if we're really comparing so far

I agree with this. I hated the Mo trade up then and hate it more now. Hopefully he has a good season and we get something from that stupid move.

 

[AbeBeta]

The philosophy and brain trust behind the 2009 draft is one of the main reasons for our defensive depth issues now. Letting go would be easier if the team actually learned from it, but they didn't.

Actually if we had done better in the 2009 draft, we'd probably not see many of those players here anymore. Six years removed from a draft and you've done well if there are a couple of real keepers. 2009 has little to do with 2014's depth

 

[Zordon]

I'm sorry you have such difficulty with reading comprehension.

I get it. The fact that Mo, Crawford, and Wilbur (Leary wasn't drafted) are still on the team makes you happy. Completely ignore the fact that they are JAGS or how much we gave up for them...you are simply satisfied with them being contributors.

 

[foofighters]

The philosophy and brain trust behind the 2009 draft is one of the main reasons for our defensive depth issues now. Letting go would be easier if the team actually learned from it, but they didn't.

So what do you gain by carrying this torch of anger for 5 years?

 

[gimmesix]

Starts with trading up to get Morris Claiborne, something that most thought we have been a homerun draft choice.

Even then I was a bit puzzled when they drafted Tyrone Crawford, who seemed like he didn't have the experience or the talent to be a 3rd round draft pick, but was considered raw with a lot of upside. Switch to the 4-3, and the inability for this front office to make a decision on where to play him has been mindboggling.

Kyle Wilber is threatening for a starting position, but I could just as easily seem him cut in a year. Another failed player position story from the 3-4 to 4-3 move. It seems like they had no plan for these players when they made this decision.


James Hanna.... a huge mystery as to why this guy could never be utilized to the best of his ability, or maybe we just made too much of his talents or lack there of.

Unless I'm wrong, three of these guys will possibly be starting this year, while the fourth is a contributor. If it pans out that way, that's actually pretty good.

Seems to me you've already made up your mind about the value of Claiborne, Crawford and Wilber, in particular. Not sure the final chapter has been written.

 

[Doc50]

It's starting to look weak, but 2009? Bit of anExaggeration. How many games were collectively started by that group? Probably less than Claiborne started in 2012 alone.

We'll see how Crawford pans out. Gotta remember he's coming off of a major injury. The rest looks like garbage, but 2009 was worst case scenario.

His draft is closer to 06 if we're really comparing so far

Bit of an exaggeration to classify Hanna and Wilber as garbage.

 

[Gameover]

I would say more like 2004 and 2006

But big bad bill was in charge so we don't count those, right?

 

[jterrell]

various:
The 2012 draft could be a great haul or a soft one.
It is not epically bad.

This is just a poor overall post by the OP.

List 4-7 rounders and be mad no starters? Ok, perhaps.
List that as some evidence of tragedy? ROFL.

Crawford: So he played a year in the position drafted and contributed quite nicely.
Then we switched schemes and he played about a week of training camp.
If one wonders why they can;t figure out where ot play him perhaps the fact he's only had 3 or 4 weeks of padded practice and ONE game in this scheme has something to do with it....

But perhaps biggest is saying we shouldn;t have draft Caleb McSurdy in round 7 ... because he is slower than Bradie James.
The same Bradie James who was a long time team leader here and led us in tackles a number of times.....
Why, oh my, some lesser version of that in round 7 would be just terrible.....

 

[Risen Star]

That 2012 offseason was one of the worst of the Jerry era. A tremendous waste of top resources.

 

[CT Dal Fan]

I read an article about how the Cowboys so royally screwed up the 2009 draft. Here's the basic gist:

Dallas had no 1st round pick. They wanted Oregon center Max Unger in the second, but he went to Seattle a couple picks before Dallas. The next best players on the board were running back LeSean McCoy and tackle Phil Loadholt. But the Cowboys had drafted Felix Jones a year earlier and opted against McCoy (OUCH), and they had a bad medical report on Loadholt. Suffice to say, trading down again was an awful idea. And passing on McCoy potentially bites them twice a year now.

 

[Kaiser]

So, not a starter among them...except, of course, for likely Mo and Crawford game one. What's your point again?

And likely Wilber, plus Hanna as a rotational guy. Other than those four, sure, its a mirror image of 2009.