The Disaster Two Draft Picks that Changed Everything

[dckid]

All things considered, if Mike Sherrard hadn't broken his leg in 1987 the Cowboys probably would not have drafted Mike Irvin.

Who knows what would have happened!

Great point. I agree that kind of seven degrees of separation 5 years removed is not very fruitful.
To me a bigger unforgiveable act was the Cowboys passing on Randy Moss in the 98 draft, because Jerry cared about how the Cowboys were thought of. We took Greg Ellis, a good player buy passed on Moss who could have extended Aikman and Emmits career in Dallas, along with Irvin if he didnt have the neck issue.
We can play this game forever.

 

[charron]

every team can play this game.

 

[Big_D]

If the Pro Bowl is mostly picked by coaches and players its not a popularity contest.

And on the Patriots taking Jaylon Smith, you need to read up on this newfangled invention called "draft day trades".

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...lon-smith-who-absolutely-thinks-2016-in-play/

Belichick targeting Jaylon Smith for a draft day trade destroys your argument about the Patriots being too smart to draft Jaylon.

I didn't say the Patriots wouldn't draft him. I said he was a reach for the Cowboys at 34 but not necessarily a reach for the 5 time Super Bowl champs at 60. lol And the pro bowl is still pure garbage. Fans make up a 3rd of the vote. And judging by your defense of him I'm sure you were very active! That article saying he can play in 2016 is more crap. Just speculation that never panned out. And regardless of what happened in 2016, it's a wasted pick in 2020. He's not very good, can't shed a block, still babies the leg and the defensive side of the ball flat out sucks. Including him.

 

[Big_D]

Great point. I agree that kind of seven degrees of separation 5 years removed is not very fruitful.
To me a bigger unforgiveable act was the Cowboys passing on Randy Moss in the 98 draft, because Jerry cared about how the Cowboys were thought of. We took Greg Ellis, a good player buy passed on Moss who could have extended Aikman and Emmits career in Dallas, along with Irvin if he didnt have the neck issue.
We can play this game forever.

Sure we can play this game forever, but what stupid decisions are effecting this team right now? There's a bunch! And it's really not hindsight or second guessing. Just basic common sense managerial decisions.

 

[KingintheNorth]

The 2 picks that haunt me were also heavily debated in the war room, which means someone in the Cowboys FO gets it, but doesn't have the sway to convince others.

Taco Charlton over TJ Watt

Trysten Hill over Juan Thornhill

We are a much, much better defense with those 2 players.

 

[Kaiser]

I didn't say the Patriots wouldn't draft him. I said he was a reach for the Cowboys at 34 but not necessarily a reach for the 5 time Super Bowl champs at 60. lol And the pro bowl is still pure garbage. Fans make up a 3rd of the vote. And judging by your defense of him I'm sure you were very active! That article saying he can play in 2016 is more crap. Just speculation that never panned out. And regardless of what happened in 2016, it's a wasted pick in 2020. He's not very good, can't shed a block, still babies the leg and the defensive side of the ball flat out sucks. Including him.

The article said the Patriots were going to trade up to take him, not wait until 60. So Dallas had no choice but to take him at 34 if they wanted him because he wouldn't be there in the 3rd round.

 

[lostar2009]

I didn't want the RG pick. I knew he wouldn't be able to stop smoking.

 

[ColoradoCowboy]

It was the year 2015 where the Cowboys lost Demarco Murray to free agency and the Cowboys needed to draft a running with one top draft picks.

They still had the league's best oline. However, the thinking was "anyone can run behind this oline" which got them into trouble.

Their first pick was Byron Jones. This is a good pick. But they converted him into safety, which was another blunder by the coaches.

The next two picks I believe is where we really screwed up.

2nd round pick we went with Randy Gregory. A few rounds later the Seahawks select Frank Clark, Defensive End. Clark got 10 sacks and two force fumbles his first year. In his second year he had 12 sacks and now plays for Kansas City.

On the other hand, Randy Gregory is still addicted to dope.

With the 3rd round Dallas selects Chaz Green. This round is where they should have gone for a runningback. I would have picked Jay Ajayi with this pick.

If we would have picked Frank Clark instead of Gregory we would have not have selected Taco Charlton with our 1st pick in 2017. We would have gotten Kevin King instead who still plays for Green Bay. With our 2nd round pick we wouldn't have used it for Awuzie.

The next year, we needed a runningback badly. So we drafted Elliott. If we had Ajayi, I doubt that pick would have been for a runningback. I'd go with Ramsey and possible go with a running back in the 2nd round, pick Derrick Henry.

So with both those picks we were forced to pick Zeke and Taco. Where we could have had Jay Ajayi, Derrick Henry, and Jaylen Ramsey, and Frank Clark.

What are your thoughts? Let's discuss this rather then wallow over the lost to the Browns.

If my Aunt had a cack, she'd be my Uncle.

 

[Big_D]

The article said the Patriots were going to trade up to take him, not wait until 60. So Dallas had no choice but to take him at 34 if they wanted him because he wouldn't be there in the 3rd round.

Even if they traded up they still weren't moving up 26 spots. The Pats are a better team in a much better position to handle such a pick. So the Cowboys had to have him that bad they were playing keep away cause that makes it even worse? A healthy player or a guy coming off a devastating injury? Didn't seem a like a very tough decision with the highest pick you had in years!

 

[Bobhaze]

If if's and but's were candy and nuts...

The draft is a crap shoot. The 2019 and 2015 drafts look horrible. The 2016 draft knocked it out of the park.

Jerry Jones is a gambler and he always will be. He took a shot on Randy Gregory just as he took a shot on Jaylon Smith. You could make the argument that you should take those shots later in the draft and not earlier and it's a good argument. But hindsight is 20/20.

The picks that I'd like to have back: Greg Ellis over Randy Moss, Bobby Carpenter over Antonio Cromartie, and more recently Leighton Vander Esch over Hayden Hurst or Calvin Ridley.. but all in all, especially if you compare the Cowboys' drafts to a team like the Eagles, who won a Super Bowl in 2017, the Cowboys haven't done all that bad. The draft is not the problem with this team.

Jerry Jones has wasted more draft capital in the second round than any GM in history. (Because most others would have been fired for this kind of dismal draft performance) Just look at Jerry’s second round draft record the last decade and how many were an injury risk or had other “big risks”.

• 2010- Sean Lee LB- was first round talent but was an injury risk. He’s a great talent but has missed a whopping 55 games in his career- the equivalent of 3+ whole seasons
• 2011- Bruce Carter LB- had talent but was an injury risk- had a couple good years here.
• 2012- Traded away as part of the Mo Claiborne trade
• 2013- Gavin Escobar- TE- complete bust.
• 2014- DeMarcus Lawrence- DE- worked out pretty well until this year
• 2015- Randy Gregory- DE- was a huge risk- everyone knew he had mental health and weed issues. As of now a complete bust
• 2016- Jaylon Smith- LB- huge injury risk. Has a big contract with only mediocre results.
  
• 2017- Chidobe Awuzie- CB- no known risk- been meh so far.
  
• 2018- Connor Williams- G- No known risks. In his third year. Has been avg at best.
• 2019- Trysten Hill- DT- was a behavior risk- too early to declare a bust, but not looking great.

Name a GM that could turn in this type of performance and still be working?

 

[Big_D]

Jerry Jones has wasted more draft capital in the second round than any GM in history. (Because most others would have been fired for this kind of dismal draft performance) Just look at Jerry’s second round draft record the last decade and how many were an injury risk or had other “big risks”.

• 2010- Sean Lee LB- was first round talent but was an injury risk. He’s a great talent but has missed a whopping 55 games in his career- the equivalent of 3+ whole seasons
• 2011- Bruce Carter LB- had talent but was an injury risk- had a couple good years here.
• 2012- Traded away as part of the Mo Claiborne trade
• 2013- Gavin Escobar- TE- complete bust.
• 2014- DeMarcus Lawrence- DE- worked out pretty well until this year
• 2015- Randy Gregory- DE- was a huge risk- everyone knew he had mental health and weed issues. As of now a complete bust
• 2016- Jaylon Smith- LB- huge injury risk. Has a big contract with only mediocre results.
  
• 2017- Chidobe Awuzie- CB- no known risk- been meh so far.
  
• 2018- Connor Williams- G- No known risks. In his third year. Has been avg at best.
• 2019- Trysten Hill- DT- was a behavior risk- too early to declare a bust, but not looking great.

Name a GM that could turn in this type of performance and still be working?

Plus they traded away their 3rd to move up for Lawrence! All that on top of taking a RB 4th overall. Just really stupid.

 

[America's Cowboy]

It was the year 2015 where the Cowboys lost Demarco Murray to free agency and the Cowboys needed to draft a running with one top draft picks.

They still had the league's best oline. However, the thinking was "anyone can run behind this oline" which got them into trouble.

Their first pick was Byron Jones. This is a good pick. But they converted him into safety, which was another blunder by the coaches.

The next two picks I believe is where we really screwed up.

2nd round pick we went with Randy Gregory. A few rounds later the Seahawks select Frank Clark, Defensive End. Clark got 10 sacks and two force fumbles his first year. In his second year he had 12 sacks and now plays for Kansas City.

On the other hand, Randy Gregory is still addicted to dope.

With the 3rd round Dallas selects Chaz Green. This round is where they should have gone for a runningback. I would have picked Jay Ajayi with this pick.

If we would have picked Frank Clark instead of Gregory we would have not have selected Taco Charlton with our 1st pick in 2017. We would have gotten Kevin King instead who still plays for Green Bay. With our 2nd round pick we wouldn't have used it for Awuzie.

The next year, we needed a runningback badly. So we drafted Elliott. If we had Ajayi, I doubt that pick would have been for a runningback. I'd go with Ramsey and possible go with a running back in the 2nd round, pick Derrick Henry.

So with both those picks we were forced to pick Zeke and Taco. Where we could have had Jay Ajayi, Derrick Henry, and Jaylen Ramsey, and Frank Clark.

What are your thoughts? Let's discuss this rather then wallow over the lost to the Browns.

100% agree, except the Cowboys should have picked TJ Watt instead of passing him over for sloppy Taco Charlton. That would have left the Cowboys with Frank Clark on one end and TJ Watt on the other on the D-line. Our Defense would have been so much better right now.

 

[Aviano90]

They still had the league's best oline. However, the thinking was "anyone can run behind this oline" which got them into trouble.

How did this get them into trouble? The Cowboys had the 4th leading rusher in the league. We had the 9th highest rushing yards in the league despite being 18th in number of attempts. We averaged 4.6 ypc which was 5th best in league.

We did all that while our #1 receiver was either missing or injured for all but a few drives in the 1st game of the season and having one of the worst passing attacks in the league. There was nothing other than our running game for the opposing defense to worry about defending.

And our RB didn't cause Romo to get injured in week 2 either, which ruined the season. He was injured on a shotgun, empty backfield play.

If anything, it was proven that we could have made due just fine without spending big resources at the RB position.

 

[Bobhaze]

Plus they traded away their 3rd to move up for Lawrence! All that on top of taking a RB 4th overall. Just really stupid.

It’s no mystery why this team has its struggles defensively. It’s the poor drafts.

 

[cowboysfan99]

If if's and but's were candy and nuts...

The draft is a crap shoot. The 2019 and 2015 drafts look horrible. The 2016 draft knocked it out of the park.

Dak Prescott was a fantastic pick in the fourth round, but otherwise I disagree. The first two picks were mistakes.

 

[kskboys]

Jerry Jones has wasted more draft capital in the second round than any GM in history. (Because most others would have been fired for this kind of dismal draft performance) Just look at Jerry’s second round draft record the last decade and how many were an injury risk or had other “big risks”.

• 2010- Sean Lee LB- was first round talent but was an injury risk. He’s a great talent but has missed a whopping 55 games in his career- the equivalent of 3+ whole seasons
• 2011- Bruce Carter LB- had talent but was an injury risk- had a couple good years here.
• 2012- Traded away as part of the Mo Claiborne trade
• 2013- Gavin Escobar- TE- complete bust.
• 2014- DeMarcus Lawrence- DE- worked out pretty well until this year
• 2015- Randy Gregory- DE- was a huge risk- everyone knew he had mental health and weed issues. As of now a complete bust
• 2016- Jaylon Smith- LB- huge injury risk. Has a big contract with only mediocre results.
  
• 2017- Chidobe Awuzie- CB- no known risk- been meh so far.
  
• 2018- Connor Williams- G- No known risks. In his third year. Has been avg at best.
• 2019- Trysten Hill- DT- was a behavior risk- too early to declare a bust, but not looking great.

Name a GM that could turn in this type of performance and still be working?

We also gave up a third to move up for Bryant in 2010. 3 slots. It's not about Bryant, it's the fact that our O and Dline were both completely falling apart in 09, and taking the WR position did not improve our team.

 

[kskboys]

Dak Prescott was a fantastic pick in the fourth round, but otherwise I disagree. The first two picks were mistakes.

How in the world can anyone say taking Jaylon was anything but stupid?

 

[Bobhaze]

How in the world can anyone say taking Jaylon was anything but stupid?

We could have taken him in the 3rd-5th round. Jerry is always susceptible to being fooled by rumors on draft day. Allegedly, the pats acted like they might take Jaylon before the Cowboys in second round, so Jerry apparently let that allow him to reach early for a guy whose value was not second round value.

Jerry is still somehow obsessed with “outsmarting” people in the draft or proud somehow that he can “take risks no other GM can”. In actuality, those risks he so often takes with premium draft picks are completely unnecessary. I would argue that the contract Jerry gave Jaylon Smith was the owner trying to justify the risks of the GM.

This is simply more evidence of why having a billionaire owner with weird insecurities about getting his props as a “football guy” makes for a bad combination as a GM. It’s an inherently flawed idea. The winning owners of the last 24 SBs all hired somebody else to be their GM. This setup we’ve suffered under for a quarter of a century is just football suicide.

 

[kskboys]

Unfortunately, taking Lamb is similar to taking Bryant. It's not the player I have issues w/, it's the complete lack of understanding by Jerry what is needed to get into super bowl contention. It's not highly drafted WR's.

 

[kskboys]

We could have taken him in the 3rd-5th round. Jerry is always susceptible to being fooled by rumors on draft day. Allegedly, the pats acted like they might take Jaylon before the Cowboys in second round, so Jerry apparently let that allow him to reach early for a guy whose value was not second round value.

Jerry is still somehow obsessed with “outsmarting” people in the draft or proud somehow that he can “take risks no other GM can”. In actuality, those risks he so often takes with premium draft picks are completely unnecessary. I would argue that the contract Jerry gave Jaylon Smith was the owner trying to justify the risks of the GM.

This is simply more evidence of why having a billionaire owner with weird insecurities about getting his props as a “football guy” makes for a bad combination also serving as GM. It’s an inherently flawed idea. The winning owners of the last 24 SBs all hired somebody else to be their GM. This setup we’ve suffered under for a quarter of a century is just football suicide.

Man, it took me a while to believe what you're saying in the 1st paragraph. However, there's simply been too many signs of Jerry falling for draft rumors. Escobar was one such, a slow TE who couldn't create separation, but Jerry only saw the hoopla and took him in the 2nd. Never made sense. He was a 5th round rated talent.

Byron Jones was another, though he did turn out after 3 years. Jerry fell for the draft hoopla. Trysten Hill, there's another.

Jerry gets abused by other NFL teams. Because he just doesn't get it.