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LaFleur is proof draft is a gamble
By RICK HERRIN
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
Tight end David LaFleur only played four seasons with the Cowboys.
If the Cowboys' draft plans had gone right, tight end David LaFleur would probably be winding down a successful career.
Instead, the No. 22 overall pick in the 1997 draft is long out of football and the team hasn't selected an offensive player in the first round since.
By the time he was released before the 2001 season, the Cowboys were basically doing him a favor.
"It was really a relief," LaFleur said of being cut after training camp. "It was such a struggle to just get up and perform with a body that had definitely given out."
LaFleur, with grizzly bear-like size at 6-foot-7, 280 pounds, had an arthritic spine condition and a broken body by age 27 and left the league as a first-round bust. But the Cowboys could end the streak this year by drafting an offensive player in the first round.
The Cowboys are aging at receiver with 30-somethings Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn and are in their best position in years to take the best talent on the board. And 10 years later, they sit at No. 22 again.
Once considered the complete package of pass-catching ability and blocking, the Cowboys liked LaFleur better than Kansas City Chiefs eight-time Pro Bowler Tony Gonzalez.
"We also thought David was going to provide us more of a blocker and pretty good pass catcher than Gonzalez," said former Cowboys scouting director Larry Lacewell said. "We certainly didn't get the best player as it has proven."
LaFleur, 33, played only four years, 53 games and caught 85 passes for 729 yards and 12 touchdowns.
"I thought David was the more complete player as far as what he could do blocking," said former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, who had a pre-draft workout with LaFleur and Tony Gonzalez. "David was pegged as the right guy for us. He had some injuries and football as it ended up wasn't something that was a real priority in his life."
Since his football career ended, LaFleur has had plenty of success in business. He moved to Sulphur, La., which is near his hometown of Westlake, and is a part-owner and operator of 23 medical imaging facilities. LaFleur, who played at LSU, and his wife Melody have three children -- Jake (6), Jolie (5) and John David (7 months).
The Cowboys wanted LaFleur so bad in the 1997 draft that they moved up from the No. 25 spot to No. 22 in the first round in a trade with Philadelphia and also gave the Eagles a fifth-round pick in 1997 and a third-round choice in 1998. That third-round pick in 1998 landed the Eagles Pro Bowl linebacker Jeremiah Trotter.
"Sometimes you do things out of need," Lacewell said. "Moving up in the draft was probably wrong. Drafting him was probably wrong. We definitely needed him, but we probably overpaid for him a little."
Cowboys Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten, a third-round pick out of Tennessee in 2003, eclipsed LaFleur's career total for catches and yards -- in a single season (2004).
LaFleur isn't troubled by an unfulfilled career with the Cowboys, only with a back that won't allow him to run and get out of bed without a struggle. Before his back problems knocked him out of the NFL, LaFleur had already lived his football dream playing at LSU. He still attends LSU games and talks often with Tigers head coach Les Miles, who was his position coach with the Cowboys from 1998-2000.
LeFleur's first signs of a back problem came at LSU, but Lacewell said there were no pre-draft red flags to cause concern. He played 16 games as a rookie and started the next three seasons.
LaFleur, who dealt with back spasms daily, had a career-best season in 1999 with 35 catches for 322 yards and a team-high seven touchdown catches. The Cowboys made the playoffs under Chan Gailey.
But the following year he needed back surgery for a herniated disc and played only eight games.
"After the surgery, I thought I had kicked it," LaFleur said. "I had a decent season, then I ended up herniating the disc above it. Then I knew the clock was ticking. It was a constant battle each day."
LaFleur's career with the Cowboys began in Westlake. Before the draft, the Cowboys rolled into Westlake High School and brought Aikman for a workout.
"I remember being nervous and star struck," LaFleur said. "And I was surprised how big Troy Aikman was."
LaFleur's workout went well and the team also did the same thing with Gonzalez. Gonzalez was drafted well ahead of LaFleur at No. 13 by the Chiefs.
"Jerry [Jones] wanted him, [Barry] Switzer wanted him and Troy [Aikman] wanted him," Lacewell said of LaFleur. "There wasn't anybody against him."
Only his body.
Rick Herrin, 817-685-3864 rickherrin@star-telegram.com
By RICK HERRIN
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
Tight end David LaFleur only played four seasons with the Cowboys.
If the Cowboys' draft plans had gone right, tight end David LaFleur would probably be winding down a successful career.
Instead, the No. 22 overall pick in the 1997 draft is long out of football and the team hasn't selected an offensive player in the first round since.
By the time he was released before the 2001 season, the Cowboys were basically doing him a favor.
"It was really a relief," LaFleur said of being cut after training camp. "It was such a struggle to just get up and perform with a body that had definitely given out."
LaFleur, with grizzly bear-like size at 6-foot-7, 280 pounds, had an arthritic spine condition and a broken body by age 27 and left the league as a first-round bust. But the Cowboys could end the streak this year by drafting an offensive player in the first round.
The Cowboys are aging at receiver with 30-somethings Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn and are in their best position in years to take the best talent on the board. And 10 years later, they sit at No. 22 again.
Once considered the complete package of pass-catching ability and blocking, the Cowboys liked LaFleur better than Kansas City Chiefs eight-time Pro Bowler Tony Gonzalez.
"We also thought David was going to provide us more of a blocker and pretty good pass catcher than Gonzalez," said former Cowboys scouting director Larry Lacewell said. "We certainly didn't get the best player as it has proven."
LaFleur, 33, played only four years, 53 games and caught 85 passes for 729 yards and 12 touchdowns.
"I thought David was the more complete player as far as what he could do blocking," said former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, who had a pre-draft workout with LaFleur and Tony Gonzalez. "David was pegged as the right guy for us. He had some injuries and football as it ended up wasn't something that was a real priority in his life."
Since his football career ended, LaFleur has had plenty of success in business. He moved to Sulphur, La., which is near his hometown of Westlake, and is a part-owner and operator of 23 medical imaging facilities. LaFleur, who played at LSU, and his wife Melody have three children -- Jake (6), Jolie (5) and John David (7 months).
The Cowboys wanted LaFleur so bad in the 1997 draft that they moved up from the No. 25 spot to No. 22 in the first round in a trade with Philadelphia and also gave the Eagles a fifth-round pick in 1997 and a third-round choice in 1998. That third-round pick in 1998 landed the Eagles Pro Bowl linebacker Jeremiah Trotter.
"Sometimes you do things out of need," Lacewell said. "Moving up in the draft was probably wrong. Drafting him was probably wrong. We definitely needed him, but we probably overpaid for him a little."
Cowboys Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten, a third-round pick out of Tennessee in 2003, eclipsed LaFleur's career total for catches and yards -- in a single season (2004).
LaFleur isn't troubled by an unfulfilled career with the Cowboys, only with a back that won't allow him to run and get out of bed without a struggle. Before his back problems knocked him out of the NFL, LaFleur had already lived his football dream playing at LSU. He still attends LSU games and talks often with Tigers head coach Les Miles, who was his position coach with the Cowboys from 1998-2000.
LeFleur's first signs of a back problem came at LSU, but Lacewell said there were no pre-draft red flags to cause concern. He played 16 games as a rookie and started the next three seasons.
LaFleur, who dealt with back spasms daily, had a career-best season in 1999 with 35 catches for 322 yards and a team-high seven touchdown catches. The Cowboys made the playoffs under Chan Gailey.
But the following year he needed back surgery for a herniated disc and played only eight games.
"After the surgery, I thought I had kicked it," LaFleur said. "I had a decent season, then I ended up herniating the disc above it. Then I knew the clock was ticking. It was a constant battle each day."
LaFleur's career with the Cowboys began in Westlake. Before the draft, the Cowboys rolled into Westlake High School and brought Aikman for a workout.
"I remember being nervous and star struck," LaFleur said. "And I was surprised how big Troy Aikman was."
LaFleur's workout went well and the team also did the same thing with Gonzalez. Gonzalez was drafted well ahead of LaFleur at No. 13 by the Chiefs.
"Jerry [Jones] wanted him, [Barry] Switzer wanted him and Troy [Aikman] wanted him," Lacewell said of LaFleur. "There wasn't anybody against him."
Only his body.
Rick Herrin, 817-685-3864 rickherrin@star-telegram.com
