The Dirty Dozen, the 91-92 Draft Class, 2015 Draft Class

[gimmesix]

From 2010 to the present:
2010 came Dez Bryant and Sean Lee
2011 came Tyron Smith, Bruce Carter, Demarco Murray and Dwayne Harris.
2012 came Tyrone Crawford, Kyle Wilber, and James Hanna
2013 came Travis Frederick, Gavin Escobar, Terrance Williams, J.J. Wilcox, and Joseph Randle
2014 came Zach Martin, Demarcus Lawrence, Anthony Hitchens, Devin Street, Ben Gardner and Ken Bishop
and now this 2015 draft.

When you look at it from this perspective, it really looks like the Cowboys are drafting just as effectively (if not more effectively) than the previous two eras.

So it is not just 2015 - it will be what happens before and after this draft.

The only problem is the salary cap age doesn't let you stack drafts like those earlier years. Gone already are Carter, Murray and Harris, which means you're having to find replacement every four to five years for some of your hits.

The salary cap makes it necessary to establish who you want your building blocks to be and then do a good job of supplementing them year after year. The 2015 draft stands a good chance of doing that considering how things fell for Dallas at corner, end and offensive line. It would have been nice to have these players and be able to retain Murray, Carter and Harris, but you can't have it all so hopefully what we have instead of those guys will be enough with what we've added.

 

[jazzcat22]

For those Cowboys fans who remember, the 1975 draft class was considered the Dirty Dozen, the collection of talent that put us into Super Bowl 10 and had us playing in two others, including a victory in Super Bowl 12. I'm bolding the players who made the greatest impact:
Randy White
Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson
Bob Breunig
Pat Donovan
Herb Scott
Mitch Hoopes
Percy Howard
Randy Hughes
Scott Laidlaw
Burton Lawless
Kyle Davis
Roland Woolsey

In 1991, we built the nucleus of our Super Bowl team that would come the following year.
Russell Maryland
Alvin Harper
Kelvin Pritchett
Dixon Edwards
Godfrey Myles
James Richards
Erik Williams
Curvin Richards
Bill Musgrave
Tony Hill
Kevin Harris
Darrick Brownlow
Mike Sullivan
Leon Lett
Damon Mays
Sean Love
Tony Boles
Larry Brown

In 1992, we added the draft class that put us into Super Bowl 27 ...
Kevin Smith
Robert Jones
Jimmy Smith
Darren Woodson
Clayton Holmes
James Brown
Tom Myslinski
Greg Briggs
Rod Milstead
Fallon Wacasey
Nate Kirtman
Chris Hall
John Terry
Tim Daniel
Don Harris

Of course, this current class still has much to prove, but should this class get us to a Super Bowl ...

Byron Jones
Randy Gregory
Chaz Green
Damien Wilson
Ryan Russell
Mark Nzeocha
Laurence Gibson
Geoff Swaim
La'el Collins (free agent)

So my question is where do you think the current class will rank in the pantheon of great Cowboys drafts? Of course, this is speculation, but that's what this discussion board is for.

Add last years rookies and 2nd year guys coming off of injuries to this list. As to building something special.

 

[jazzcat22]

They haven't played a down in the NFL. They haven't even gone through a training camp.

CHILL.

You can't give credit for anything can you.....

In the 3 years that Irvin, Aikman, Emmitt was drafted well as the others on that list had not played a down in the NFL either when they were drafted.
Over 3 years, all those players worked out pretty well for not playing a down until they did.

More likely than not, these players will be very good.

 

[tyke1doe]

Will take a lot for them to even come close to those first two drafts, partly because of the sheer numbers. Hitting on just Jones, Gregory and Collins would do a lot for this team. Throw in a couple of others as key contributors and its better than the 1992 draft, which really didn't provide as many contributors as you'd like in 15 picks to be considered great.

I didn't have a way to proportionate it or was too lazy to make the adjustment. Obviously, if you're drafting 15 rounds or even 12 rounds, you're odds of getting a good to great player increases.

 

[tyke1doe]

What did we get for Pritchett?

I don't know.

 

[darthseinfeld]

I don't know.

I think we flipped for some useful players

Ill look it up

 

[TheDude]

why is jimmy smith not bolded?

 

[batman36]

why is jimmy smith not bolded?

He didn't contribute in Dallas...his best days [years] were in Jacksonville.

 

[TheDude]

He didn't contribute in Dallas...his best days [years] were in Jacksonville.

Still a good draft pick...The evaluation was correct. the injury assessment afterwards, not so much

 

[dallasdave]

For those Cowboys fans who remember, the 1975 draft class was considered the Dirty Dozen, the collection of talent that put us into Super Bowl 10 and had us playing in two others, including a victory in Super Bowl 12. I'm bolding the players who made the greatest impact:
Randy White
Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson
Bob Breunig
Pat Donovan
Herb Scott
Mitch Hoopes
Percy Howard
Randy Hughes
Scott Laidlaw
Burton Lawless
Kyle Davis
Roland Woolsey

In 1991, we built the nucleus of our Super Bowl team that would come the following year.
Russell Maryland
Alvin Harper
Kelvin Pritchett
Dixon Edwards
Godfrey Myles
James Richards
Erik Williams
Curvin Richards
Bill Musgrave
Tony Hill
Kevin Harris
Darrick Brownlow
Mike Sullivan
Leon Lett
Damon Mays
Sean Love
Tony Boles
Larry Brown

In 1992, we added the draft class that put us into Super Bowl 27 ...
Kevin Smith
Robert Jones
Jimmy Smith
Darren Woodson
Clayton Holmes
James Brown
Tom Myslinski
Greg Briggs
Rod Milstead
Fallon Wacasey
Nate Kirtman
Chris Hall
John Terry
Tim Daniel
Don Harris

Of course, this current class still has much to prove, but should this class get us to a Super Bowl ...

Byron Jones
Randy Gregory
Chaz Green
Damien Wilson
Ryan Russell
Mark Nzeocha
Laurence Gibson
Geoff Swaim
La'el Collins (free agent)

So my question is where do you think the current class will rank in the pantheon of great Cowboys drafts? Of course, this is speculation, but that's what this discussion board is for.

Hey this was a good post, get some discussion going, and go back in time and remember some of these drafts, and point out that this looks like a good draft..

 

[dallasdave]

I gotta say, this is the most excited I've been about a draft class since the Ware/Spears draft.

I think that Gregory and Collins are Pro Bowl level talents. Jones I think will develop into an important leader on defense. And if Wilson and Russell becomes solid role players off the bench and Green or Gibson become a solid swing tackle, this will go down as an all time draft.

I agree with you that Gregory and Collins are Pro Bowl talents, but I think Jones will be pro bowl talent at some point, Jones has a great upside it will just take him longer.

 

[Galian Beast]

its a forum where we talk about things, calm down or don't visit if talking about stuff gets you so worked up

So many people here don't realize that this is a message board...

 

[tyke1doe]

Hey this was a good post, get some discussion going, and go back in time and remember some of these drafts, and point out that this looks like a good draft..

I can't recall when I've been as excited about a draft class, really. Maybe drafts where we've had two first round picks. But since the 90s, I've never really been wowed by our draft classes because, subconsciously, I wasn't confident in our ability to pick good players.
But I feel much more confident now, so I'm really excited about this class and what it can do in future years.

I know I'm getting ahead of myself, but charge it to my heart and not my head.

 

[tyke1doe]

So many people here don't realize that this is a message board...

It's NOT?

 

[dallasdave]

I can't recall when I've been as excited about a draft class, really. Maybe drafts where we've had two first round picks. But since the 90s, I've never really been wowed by our draft classes because, subconsciously, I wasn't confident in our ability to pick good players.
But I feel much more confident now, so I'm really excited about this class and what it can do in future years.

I know I'm getting ahead of myself, but charge it to my heart and not my head.

It is a draft that gets you thinking hey we have the start of something special here and maybe, just maybe we win the Super Bowl this year.

 

[jazzcat22]

It's NOT?

LOL

Yeah, many times I thought I was on a w(h)ine & cheese board.
Often wondered why I never seen an order link......

 

[waving monkey]

Those are some great dtaft years , Regardless of the Doubting Thomas's I go with gossip around the league.
I like the envy i am reading on other board and I want to crow some and make big outlandish claims.
By the way I do think we are in the SB .I'll lay odds with Vegas this draft will rank with the best of em.
Shoot me.

 

[dallasdave]

Those are some great dtaft years , Regardless of the Doubting Thomas's I go with gossip around the league.
I like the envy i am reading on other board and I want to crow some and make big outlandish claims.
By the way I do think we are in the SB .I'll lay odds with Vegas this draft will rank with the best of em.
Shoot me.

I agree and one step further, Dallas wins the Super Bowl this year.

 

[Galian Beast]

It is a draft that gets you thinking hey we have the start of something special here and maybe, just maybe we win the Super Bowl this year.

When I look at a draft I look at it as successful if it nails 1 pro bowler and 2 more starters. Drafting a player in the 1st round is the highest percentage chance to get a pro bowler. And we got three players who were legit ranked in the top 32. A draft like this could certainly move us up a year or two, and perhaps make up for the terrible drafts we had in 2009 and 2004.

I think we could also get some solid depth out of this draft, and maybe even a starter depending on how things go with Green and Wilson.

Last year we had a very good draft.

Zack Martin - Pro Bowler
Demarcus Lawrence - Starter*
Anthony Hitchens - Starter*
Devin Street - Depth
Ben Gardner - TBD
Ken Bishop - TBD