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The Cowboys 2013 rookie class played more snaps than any other Cowboys rookie class since 2008 - by a large margin.
When we talk about the contribution of a rookie class, we typically talk about receiving yards, rushing yards or any other volume measure that's used for a specific position. But those kinds of stats are kind of hard to add up across multiple positions.
You often hear about how getting two solid starters out of a draft class can be considered a good draft. Perhaps not a great draft, but at least a solid draft. But those two starters are not necessarily expected to be starters in their first season.
The Cowboys got 43 starts from their 2013 rookie class, the 10th-highest value in the league, which would be the equivalent of about 2.7 starters. And while it remains to be seen who outside of Travis Frederick will become a starter down the line, that's a promising number that isn't owed entirely to the injuries that have ravaged the 2013 Cowboys. Yet even 'games started' is a pretty imprecise metric by which to measure the contribution of a rookie class.
So today we'll look at the 2013 rookie class by asking the most basic question: How much playing time did the 2013 rookie class get during the season? To do that, we'll use the number of snaps played by the rookie class during the season. One important note right up front: The snap numbers I use are taken from Pro Football Focus, and unfortunately, their data only goes back to 2008, which means I don't have snap numbers for the rookie seasons of rookie classes prior to 2008. So 2008 is where we start as we look at how much playing time the previous rookie classes got in their rookie seasons.
Here's an overview of the '08, '09 and '10 rookie classes and the number of snaps per player. The snap numbers in the tables are the offensive or defensive snaps, special teams snaps are not included.
2008 Rookie Class 2009 Rookie Class 2010 Rookie Class
Position
Name Position
Total Snaps Position
Name Total Snaps Position
Name Total Snaps
DB
Orlando Scandrick DB
395 TE
John Phillips 198 WR
Dez Bryant 429
TE
Martellus Bennett TE
389 LB
Victor Butler 112 FB
Chris Gronkowski* 336
DB
Mike Jenkins DB
379 WR
Kevin Ogletree* 44 DL
Josh Price-Brent 256
RB
Tashard Choice RB
267 DB
Michael Hamlin 10 LB
Sean Lee 169
RB
Felix Jones RB
66 DB
Bryan McCann 146
DB
Tra Battle* DB
45 DB
Barry Church* 119
OL
Phil Costa* OL
109
* denotes UDFAs
Others* 63
Total Rookie snaps 1,542
Total Rookie snaps 364
Total Rookie snaps 1,629
Rookies in % of total snaps 6.7%
Rookies in % of total snaps 1.5%
Rookies in % of total snaps 6.9%
The 2008 draft class was the "richest" draft class in the last six years in that the Cowboys had two first-round picks and a second-rounder. Interesting point here is that fifth-round pick Orlando Scandrick got more snaps than both first rounders (Jones & Jenkins) and the second rounder (Bennett) and somewhat ironically now is the only member of that draft class left on the roster. Overall, the 2008 class combined to play on 6.7% of the total 2008 snaps, a figure that is probably a little disappointing given that the Cowboys had three picks in the first two rounds.
We've been over how bad the 2009 class was so often it stopped being funny a long time ago. Yet here it is highlighted once again: That rookie class combined for a frighteningly low 364 snaps, just 1.5% of the total team snaps.
The 2010 class saw its snap totals cut short by Dez Bryant fracturing his ankle in Week 13. Sean Lee also had a lot less snaps than one could reasonably have expected from a second-rounder, owing in part to his recovery from a torn ACL but in part also to nagging injuries he suffered during camp and during the season that limited his effectiveness. Josh Brent, supplemental draft pick in 2010, as well as a bunch of UDFAs give this rookie class a little boost.
Next up, the '11 and '12 rookie classes:
2011 Rookie Class 2012 Rookie Class
Position
Name Position
Total Snaps Position
Name Total Snaps
T
Tyron Smith T
1,074 CB
Morris Claiborne 909
RB
DeMarco Murray RB
388 DE
Tyrone Crawford 303
C
Bill Nagy C
283 WR
Cole Beasley 128*
C
Kevin Kowalski* C
114 TE
James Hanna 109
RB
Phllip Tanner* RB
50 RB
Lance Dunbar 91*
LB
Alex Albright* LB
44 DE
Ben Bass 26*
LB
Bruce Carter LB
41 OLB
Kyle Wilber 16
FB
Shaun Chapas FB
8
WR
Dwayne Harris WR
1
Total Rookie snaps 2,004
Total Rookie snaps 1,582
Rookies in % of total snaps 8.5%
Rookies in % of total snaps 6.5%
The 2011 draft class effectively played without second-round pick Bruce Carter, but Tyron Smith made up for that by playing in all but six offensive snaps in 2011. Both DeMarco Murray's as well as Bill Nagy's seasons were cut short by fractured ankles, but on the strength of OT Tyron Smith, this draft class walks away with the highest total snap count yet, notching a solid 8.5% of all offensive and defensive snaps.
In 2012 the Cowboys gave up their second-round pick to draft Morris Claiborne, and given that missing pick, the snap-count total of 6.5% is actually quite good for a draft class from which three players ended up on IR and a fourth, Kyle Wilber, also hardly saw the field. On to the 2013 rookie class:
2013 Rookie Class
Position
Name Position
Snaps
C
Travis Frederick 1,025
WR
Terrance Williams WR
700
S
Jeff Heath* S
613
S
J.J. Wilcox S
530
LB
DeVonte Holloman LB
214
TE
Gavin Escobar TE
207
CB
B.W. Webb CB
185
RB
Joseph Randle RB
120
LB
Cameron Lawrence LB
63*
DL
Everett Dawkins DL
20*
S
Jakar Hamilton S
17*
Total Rookie snaps 3,694
Rookies in % of total snaps 15.3%
The Cowboys' decision to move down in the draft pays dividends in that they got 16 starts from Travis Frederick, and an extra eight from Terrance Williams. These two rookies lead a rookie class that played almost twice as many snaps as the next best class of the last six years. Now if only they could get Gavin Escobar more involved in the offense next year ...
From the data accumulated in this little exercise, it looks like adding the equivalent of two starters (which translates to about 9% of all snaps) to the roster is a good target for the first year of a rookie class. The 2010 and 2011 classes came close to that mark without reaching it. The 2013 rookie class beats the previous five classes by a significant margin, adding the equivalent of 3.4 starters to the team based on its cumulative snap count.
For many other franchises, the 2013 Cowboys rookie class would have been a luxury. But for the Cowboys, it is a necessity: The roster holes left by the '08 and '09 classes as well as the shaky status of the 2012 class means the Cowboys need strong rookie classes just to replenish their talent level, never mind improving it.
In this exercise, we looked only at the first year of each rookie class. In the next instalment, we'll look at how each rookie class developed in subsequent years.
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