Another Look at "The" Defense-Needed Draft

[SFloridaCowboy]

It was 2005.

The Boys decided to draft heavily on defense. They had two number 1's, #11 and 20 ( sounds similar to this upcoming draft in 2026) with Bill Parcells as head coach. Everything looked rosy after the draft. As it turned out, there were some great finds in the draft. We got four defensive starters out of the draft, three defensive linemen, and Hall of Famer 3-4 LB Demarcus Ware. We got Marion Barber in the 4th round. Jay Ratliff in the 7th round.

But even with those super spectacular results, there were some painful "misses." Marcus Spears, DE LSU, was an All-American dominating DE, who was the 20th pick of the first round, but was just average in the NFL. 2nd round LB Burnett, has super talent, but injuries and inconsistencies prevented him from ever emerging as a successful high #2 round pick.

The Cowboys in 2026 need to hit the jackpot and not miss on their draft selections, especially the high ones.

1	DeMarcus Ware HOF	11	LB
1	Marcus Spears	20	DE
2	Kevin Burnett	42	LB
4	Marion Barber III	109	RB
4	Chris Canty	132	DE
6	Justin Beriault	208	DB
6	Rob Petitti	209	T
7	Jay Ratliff	224	DT