SFloridaCowboy
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It was 1975, the Boys did not make the playoffs in 1974 for the first time in a long time, thus breaking the old trivia question: What are the only three things guaranteed in life? Answer: death, taxes and the Cowboys making the playoffs.
A lot of old players were gone. Lilly and several others. The team needed a jolt of youth. And boy, was it some jolt, the greatest draft of all-time.
The Boys had traded Craig Morton to the Giants and had their first pick, 2nd in the draft. Steve Bartkowski, a QB from Cal was everyne's choice for Atlanta, but the Boys and their fans were salivating at the chance to draft college football's #1 defensive lineman. He won every award there was but the Heisman. He took a below average school and carried it on his back into the top 10. He dominated college football, as if he were a man among boys. He dominated the line of scrimmage, harassed QB's, put hard licks on anyone in his path, he had a nose for the one with the ball. His strength and speed with quickness was sensational. He ran running backs from behind. He ran a 4.6 40. He was destined for greatness.
Drooling for the top two defensive linemen in consecutive drafts, after Too Tall Jones, the Boys selected Randy White of Maryland. How good was he? In training camp, Charlie Waters, who saw some great defensive linemen in his day, marveled at how dominating Randy was in practice against some very fine offensive linemen. He dubbed him MANSTER, half man half monster. Just watch what he did in the Jan 1978 Super Bowl against the Broncos.
So I attended this 1975 draft with the Boys having extra picks due to smart trades by Landry. It was an exciting haul of talent, unprecedented in the numbers of starters obtained. To this day, I marvel at the tremendous output from this draft.
The following players were starters at least one year from that draft which was called the Dirty Dozen:
Randy White Hall of Fame DT
Hollywood Henderson, LB
Burton Lawless, guard
Bob Beunig, LB
Mike Hegman, LB
Pat Donovan, LOT
Herbert Scott, guard
Randy Hughes, SS, the best third safety in Cowboys' history, stuck behind Cliff Harris and Charlie Waters. Started in 1979 when Charlie tore his ACL in pre-season.
Mitch Hoopes, punter
Scott Laidlaw, was a FB/ 3rd down back who started some games and contributed well.
Five of the above went at least once to the Pro Bowl, White, Henderson, Donovan, Scott, Breunig. This draft was the turning point in the team's ability to rebuild on the fly. It needed just one more piece to win the Super Bowl. That piece, Tony Dorsett, came two years later.
A lot of old players were gone. Lilly and several others. The team needed a jolt of youth. And boy, was it some jolt, the greatest draft of all-time.
The Boys had traded Craig Morton to the Giants and had their first pick, 2nd in the draft. Steve Bartkowski, a QB from Cal was everyne's choice for Atlanta, but the Boys and their fans were salivating at the chance to draft college football's #1 defensive lineman. He won every award there was but the Heisman. He took a below average school and carried it on his back into the top 10. He dominated college football, as if he were a man among boys. He dominated the line of scrimmage, harassed QB's, put hard licks on anyone in his path, he had a nose for the one with the ball. His strength and speed with quickness was sensational. He ran running backs from behind. He ran a 4.6 40. He was destined for greatness.
Drooling for the top two defensive linemen in consecutive drafts, after Too Tall Jones, the Boys selected Randy White of Maryland. How good was he? In training camp, Charlie Waters, who saw some great defensive linemen in his day, marveled at how dominating Randy was in practice against some very fine offensive linemen. He dubbed him MANSTER, half man half monster. Just watch what he did in the Jan 1978 Super Bowl against the Broncos.
So I attended this 1975 draft with the Boys having extra picks due to smart trades by Landry. It was an exciting haul of talent, unprecedented in the numbers of starters obtained. To this day, I marvel at the tremendous output from this draft.
The following players were starters at least one year from that draft which was called the Dirty Dozen:
Randy White Hall of Fame DT
Hollywood Henderson, LB
Burton Lawless, guard
Bob Beunig, LB
Mike Hegman, LB
Pat Donovan, LOT
Herbert Scott, guard
Randy Hughes, SS, the best third safety in Cowboys' history, stuck behind Cliff Harris and Charlie Waters. Started in 1979 when Charlie tore his ACL in pre-season.
Mitch Hoopes, punter
Scott Laidlaw, was a FB/ 3rd down back who started some games and contributed well.
Five of the above went at least once to the Pro Bowl, White, Henderson, Donovan, Scott, Breunig. This draft was the turning point in the team's ability to rebuild on the fly. It needed just one more piece to win the Super Bowl. That piece, Tony Dorsett, came two years later.