DMN: Dallas Cowboys best/worst draft picks of Jerry Jones era David Moore

[dfense]

Not sure if id rate Newman over Kevin Smith.

Smith was better all day than Newman.

 

[dfense]

Draft position goes a long way in determining what players were the worst picks. The higher a player is drafted the higher the expectations are. Although LaFleur didn't pan out I find it a little odd he would be ranked as the #1 worst pick of the Jerry Jones era when he was actually a good blocker who caught 7 TD's in 1999 which was more than Jay Novacek ever caught in a season. He had back problems that affected his play but at least he contributed some. Yes he was a disappointment but not the worst pick in my opinion. Following Jay Novacek led to some lofty expectations for him and because he didn't come close to living up to them made him look a lot worse to some than he actually was. For me hands down Morris Claiborne has been the worst pick of the Jerry Jones era not only was he the 6th overall pick but the Cowboys traded up to get him. He was billed as the best defensive player in the draft and has done nothing but disappoint in 3 NFL seasons. He's spent most of his career battling injuries and when he's on the field he gets toasted.

Top 5 worst picks of the Jerry Jones era.

1. Morris Claiborne.

2. Bobbie Carpenter.

3. Dwayne Goodrich.

4. Shante Carver

5. David LaFleur.

Carver was pretty bad.

 

[adamknite]

Draft position goes a long way in determining what players were the worst picks. The higher a player is drafted the higher the expectations are. Although LaFleur didn't pan out I find it a little odd he would be ranked as the #1 worst pick of the Jerry Jones era when he was actually a good blocker who caught 7 TD's in 1999 which was more than Jay Novacek ever caught in a season. He had back problems that affected his play but at least he contributed some. Yes he was a disappointment but not the worst pick in my opinion. Following Jay Novacek led to some lofty expectations for him and because he didn't come close to living up to them made him look a lot worse to some than he actually was. For me hands down Morris Claiborne has been the worst pick of the Jerry Jones era not only was he the 6th overall pick but the Cowboys traded up to get him. He was billed as the best defensive player in the draft and has done nothing but disappoint in 3 NFL seasons. He's spent most of his career battling injuries and when he's on the field he gets toasted.

Top 5 worst picks of the Jerry Jones era.

1. Morris Claiborne.

2. Bobbie Carpenter.

3. Dwayne Goodrich.

4. Shante Carver

5. David LaFleur.

Maybe because he's still playing I find it hard to put Claiborne at the top of the list right now, he still has a tiny chance to perhaps turn things around, but if he doesn't I think in a couple of years or sooner he'll certainly rank higher to me. Your list is probably spot on if Claiborne indeed continues this trend. I still can't believe we traded so much for him, even if he hadn't been such a huge bust I think I'd still take Brockers and Jeffery (the two people who became those two picks) over him, you just can't give up so much for one player.

 

[KJJ]

Carver was pretty bad.

Which is why I listed him ahead of LaFleur. Carver was drafted in 94 when the Cowboys were a great team and he did very little with a lot of talent around him. LaFleur was drafted in 97 when the Cowboys were on the way down. It's all a matter of opinion but you have to look at a players draft position. There's been some bad draft picks during the Jones era but some of these picks were lower round picks and not much was expected of them anyway.

 

[KJJ]

Maybe because he's still playing I find it hard to put Claiborne at the top of the list right now, he still has a tiny chance to perhaps turn things around, but if he doesn't I think in a couple of years or sooner he'll certainly rank higher to me. Your list is probably spot on if Claiborne indeed continues this trend. I still can't believe we traded so much for him, even if he hadn't been such a huge bust I think I'd still take Brockers and Jefferies (the two people who became those two picks) over him, you just can't give up so much for one player.

Currently Claiborne is at the top and it's not even close in my book but because he's still playing there's an outside chance all be it a very remote chance that he could turn things around. He's going to have a tough time rehabbing a serious injury that will continue costing him valuable practice time this summer. When you figure in his top 10 draft status his first 3 seasons have been the worst of any of the top players the Cowboys have drafted not only under the Jones era but possibly under the Landry era as well. I can't recall a higher pick in the franchises history who's been as big a disappointment as Morris Claiborne.

 

[adamknite]

Currently Claiborne is at the top and it's not even close in my book but because he's still playing there's an outside chance all be it a very remote chance that he could turn things around. He's going to have a tough time rehabbing a serious injury that will continue costing him valuable practice time this summer. When you figure in his top 10 draft status his first 3 seasons have been the worst of any of the top players the Cowboys have drafted not only under the Jones era but possibly under the Landry era as well. I can't recall a higher pick in the franchises history who's disappointed like Morris Claiborne has.

If he doesn't do something drastic to turn his career around, he's going to find himself with the "biggest Cowboys bust" label on a lot of lists I'd assume. Even if he just goes on to have a "solid" career, you'd still expect more from a top 6 pick, so I don't think he'll ever not be disappointing at the very least. I can't put him at the top of the list yet, but in a few years when he's most likely done, I'll be right there with you.

 

[jterrell]

Currently Claiborne is at the top and it's not even close in my book but because he's still playing there's an outside chance all be it a very remote chance that he could turn things around. He's going to have a tough time rehabbing a serious injury that will continue costing him valuable practice time this summer. When you figure in his top 10 draft status his first 3 seasons have been the worst of any of the top players the Cowboys have drafted not only under the Jones era but possibly under the Landry era as well. I can't recall a higher pick in the franchises history who's been as big a disappointment as Morris Claiborne.

Claiborne has started 25 of the 29 games he's played in for his career.
He's had 3 INT and 3 FF. He's generally covered well. tho he tackles very poorly and can;t stay healthy.
If he doesn't give them something this year he is headed for bustville but no where near the top 2 or 3 guys.
Starting CBs have extreme value.
As bad as Mo has underachieved thus far he is probably a better value than paying Carr 50+m.

David LaFleur was simply not an NFL caliber player in any facet.
He was an atrocious blocker who averaged less than 200 yards receiving per season.
He was just reallllly a bad football player.
And it is made worse by position. R1 TE's need to be Pro Bowlers.

Shante Carver was naother bad bust. 11.5 sacks for his entire career after being drafted as a primary pass rusher.

LaFleur and Carver were so bad they simply retired after their rookie contracts ended when no one wanted them.

 

[KJJ]

Claiborne has started 25 of the 29 games he's played in for his career.
He's had 3 INT and 3 FF. He's generally covered well. tho he tackles very poorly and can;t stay healthy.
If he doesn't give them something this year he is headed for bustville but no where near the top 2 or 3 guys.
Starting CBs have extreme value.
As bad as Mo has underachieved thus far he is probably a better value than paying Carr 50+m.

David LaFleur was simply not an NFL caliber player in any facet.
He was an atrocious blocker who averaged less than 200 yards receiving per season.
He was just reallllly a bad football player.
And it is made worse by position. R1 TE's need to be Pro Bowlers.

Shante Carver was naother bad bust. 11.5 sacks for his entire career after being drafted as a primary pass rusher.

LaFleur and Carver were so bad they simply retired after their rookie contracts ended when no one wanted them.

Claiborne has been awful in coverage which is why he got benched last season. For every good play he makes he has 2-3 bad plays. He intercepted a pass vs the Rams last season and ended up getting benched because of all his bad plays. He was targeted 7 times in that game and gave up 5 receptions for 108 yards and 2 TD's. He can't cover or stay healthy. He's entering his 4th season and has been the biggest bust in franchise history up to this point based on his consistently poor play and top 10 draft status. Had he not been guaranteed money in 2015 and was a 3rd or 4th round pick he would have been given the boot after last season. As for David LaFleur the coaches praised him as a blocker and there's an article dated during the time he played with Troy Aikman praising his blocking. His chronic back condition that dated back to his LSU days got worse during his NFL career and it may have started to affect his blocking but the Cowboy coaches always spoke highly of him as a blocker. As a receiver he was actually pretty good on 3rd downs moving the chains many times with short catches but his lack of production and down the field catches disgruntled fans. He couldn't replace Jay Novacek and being apart of the same draft class as Tony Gonzalez made LaFleur look even worse.

The 7 TD's he caught in 99 were more than Novacek ever had as a Cowboy and Jason Witten has only had 3 seasons where he caught 7 TD's or more. LaFleur's 99 season was better than any season that Mo, Goodrich, Carver or Carpenter had with the Cowboys which is why I'm putting him ahead of those players. LaFleur ruptured a disk in his back after that 99 season and that ultimately ended his career. You claim no one wanted LaFleur when the fact is he failed his physical with the Cowboys due to his back which is why he was released and no one wanted him. A bad back retired Novacek and Aikman. Neither Mo, Carver, Carpenter or Goodrich had to deal with a chronic degenerative back condition but LaFleur still made a contribution despite dealing with pain every season with his blocking, 3rd down catches and his 12 career TD's. LaFleur was a bust because he didn't live up to expectations but he contributed more than the other players on that list. He did the best he could with a painful chronic condition that continued to get worse every year. The Cowboys should have never drafted him knowing he had back problem that would likely become degenerative but they desperately needed a TE and took the chance.

 

[Wolfpack]

Drafting Quincy Carter in the second is pretty bad.