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With the No. 9 selection, the Cowboys are expecting a contributor.
Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
It's a situation teams despise getting into. But it's a situation teams love to be in.
That would be the nature of having a Top 10 draft pick.
Come April, it's the place to be. You know there's a great chance to land a top-flight talent - someone who is likely NFL-ready and can start contributing right away. However, the process to get there often is a grueling one.
And that's no exception for this year's Cowboys squad, that not only finished 6-10 in a season where expectations were higher than ever, but also had to watch two longtime rivals in the Packers and Steelers square off in a Super Bowl played at their own stadium.
What better way to start off the campaign to turn it all around than with the draft, where the Cowboys hold the No. 9 overall pick? And not just that, but they'll also select No. 40 overall, a rather high second-round spot.
Any Top 10 choice is considered a jewel - for no other reason than the fact that he's typically a player who makes an impact right out of the gate.
"With these early picks, these guys have got to be guys that are on the field for us and contributors," owner and general manager Jerry Jones said from the Scouting Combine last month. "I think that (top) pick has to play now."
Since Jones bought the team back in 1989, the Cowboys have only had four Top 10 picks, and let's include one occasion with the 11th overall selection in 2005. For it was that draft when the Cowboys snagged DeMarcus Ware, the first of two first-round picks that year along with Marcus Spears (20th overall).
For the most part, Top 10 picks have turned out well for Jones and the Cowboys. Look no further than his first-ever choice with the club back in 1989, when the club selected quarterback Troy Aikman No. 1 overall out of UCLA. Of course, to get Aikman and that top pick, the Cowboys had to endure a 3-13 season in 1988.
The Aikman selection turned out rather nicely as he not only led the Cowboys to three Super Bowls in a four-year span, but his 90 victories in the decade of the 1990s were the most by any quarterback in any decade.
In 1991, two years after the Herschel Walker trade, the Cowboys managed to land the No. 1 overall pick again, along with the 12th. That draft produced defensive tackle Russell Maryland with the first selection and then high-flying receiver Alvin Harper. Maryland and Harper proved to be a pair of productive role players on great teams.
Not until 1998 did the Cowboys get back into the draft's Top 10. With the No. 8 overall pick, despite heavy speculation that they would take Marshall receiver Randy Moss, Jones went for a safer selection in defensive end Greg Ellis. Obviously, Ellis didn't come close to the career of Moss, but he was a solid defensive player who eventually made a Pro Bowl in 2007 when he recorded a career-high 13.5 sacks and earned the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year Award after he missed half of the previous season with a torn Achilles.
In 2003, the first draft under former head coach Bill Parcells, the Cowboys solidified their cornerback position by drafting Terence Newman with the No. 5 overall pick. Newman might not have exceeded everyone's expectations, making two Pro Bowls, albeit none in his first four seasons, but he's been a regular starter at left cornerback for eight straight years with probably a few more ahead of him.
Two seasons later, the Cowboys added Ware with the 11th overall choice. Having coached Lawrence Taylor with the Giants, Parcells immediately compared Ware to the Hall of Famer. Six years into his career, Ware certainly hasn't disappointed, earning five straight Pro Bowls. He has led the NFL in sacks in two of the last three years, posting 20 in 2008 and 15.5 last season.
Of course, not every player picked in the Top 10 turns into a good player, much less a star. At the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. back in January, Jones was asked if he felt pressure to hit a "home run" with that No. 9 overall pick.
"I think that one begets the other. The higher you pick, you've got a better chance to expect that your top players in the draft, a big percentage of them, will be there," Jones said. "So that still leaves all of your options that you've got in any draft, but I don't know in any way that that would impact the intensity that we would be evaluating. And I think the plus thing that you can't overlook is we'll have that top pick at that level in all the rounds. So that will be a better player, usually, a better option in the second round, third round and on into the draft."
The last three times the Cowboys have selected this high, they've gone with defense, taking Ellis, Newman and Ware. And as they return to the Top 10, it appears that side of the ball is once again the highest of priorities after ranking 23rd in total defense last season. Positions such as safety and defensive line will likely be areas of need, but don't rule out cornerback or linebacker as well.
History also suggests that defense will likely be the first pick this year. The only real need on offense would be along the line, and since Jones bought the team in 1989, he's never picked an offensive lineman in the first round.
But whoever it is, whether on offense or defense, he'll have one common trait the Cowboys are wanting.
"We're going to get someone who can step right in and contribute to what we're trying to do," Jones said.
Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
It's a situation teams despise getting into. But it's a situation teams love to be in.
That would be the nature of having a Top 10 draft pick.
Come April, it's the place to be. You know there's a great chance to land a top-flight talent - someone who is likely NFL-ready and can start contributing right away. However, the process to get there often is a grueling one.
And that's no exception for this year's Cowboys squad, that not only finished 6-10 in a season where expectations were higher than ever, but also had to watch two longtime rivals in the Packers and Steelers square off in a Super Bowl played at their own stadium.
What better way to start off the campaign to turn it all around than with the draft, where the Cowboys hold the No. 9 overall pick? And not just that, but they'll also select No. 40 overall, a rather high second-round spot.
Any Top 10 choice is considered a jewel - for no other reason than the fact that he's typically a player who makes an impact right out of the gate.
"With these early picks, these guys have got to be guys that are on the field for us and contributors," owner and general manager Jerry Jones said from the Scouting Combine last month. "I think that (top) pick has to play now."
Since Jones bought the team back in 1989, the Cowboys have only had four Top 10 picks, and let's include one occasion with the 11th overall selection in 2005. For it was that draft when the Cowboys snagged DeMarcus Ware, the first of two first-round picks that year along with Marcus Spears (20th overall).
For the most part, Top 10 picks have turned out well for Jones and the Cowboys. Look no further than his first-ever choice with the club back in 1989, when the club selected quarterback Troy Aikman No. 1 overall out of UCLA. Of course, to get Aikman and that top pick, the Cowboys had to endure a 3-13 season in 1988.
The Aikman selection turned out rather nicely as he not only led the Cowboys to three Super Bowls in a four-year span, but his 90 victories in the decade of the 1990s were the most by any quarterback in any decade.
In 1991, two years after the Herschel Walker trade, the Cowboys managed to land the No. 1 overall pick again, along with the 12th. That draft produced defensive tackle Russell Maryland with the first selection and then high-flying receiver Alvin Harper. Maryland and Harper proved to be a pair of productive role players on great teams.
Not until 1998 did the Cowboys get back into the draft's Top 10. With the No. 8 overall pick, despite heavy speculation that they would take Marshall receiver Randy Moss, Jones went for a safer selection in defensive end Greg Ellis. Obviously, Ellis didn't come close to the career of Moss, but he was a solid defensive player who eventually made a Pro Bowl in 2007 when he recorded a career-high 13.5 sacks and earned the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year Award after he missed half of the previous season with a torn Achilles.
In 2003, the first draft under former head coach Bill Parcells, the Cowboys solidified their cornerback position by drafting Terence Newman with the No. 5 overall pick. Newman might not have exceeded everyone's expectations, making two Pro Bowls, albeit none in his first four seasons, but he's been a regular starter at left cornerback for eight straight years with probably a few more ahead of him.
Two seasons later, the Cowboys added Ware with the 11th overall choice. Having coached Lawrence Taylor with the Giants, Parcells immediately compared Ware to the Hall of Famer. Six years into his career, Ware certainly hasn't disappointed, earning five straight Pro Bowls. He has led the NFL in sacks in two of the last three years, posting 20 in 2008 and 15.5 last season.
Of course, not every player picked in the Top 10 turns into a good player, much less a star. At the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. back in January, Jones was asked if he felt pressure to hit a "home run" with that No. 9 overall pick.
"I think that one begets the other. The higher you pick, you've got a better chance to expect that your top players in the draft, a big percentage of them, will be there," Jones said. "So that still leaves all of your options that you've got in any draft, but I don't know in any way that that would impact the intensity that we would be evaluating. And I think the plus thing that you can't overlook is we'll have that top pick at that level in all the rounds. So that will be a better player, usually, a better option in the second round, third round and on into the draft."
The last three times the Cowboys have selected this high, they've gone with defense, taking Ellis, Newman and Ware. And as they return to the Top 10, it appears that side of the ball is once again the highest of priorities after ranking 23rd in total defense last season. Positions such as safety and defensive line will likely be areas of need, but don't rule out cornerback or linebacker as well.
History also suggests that defense will likely be the first pick this year. The only real need on offense would be along the line, and since Jones bought the team in 1989, he's never picked an offensive lineman in the first round.
But whoever it is, whether on offense or defense, he'll have one common trait the Cowboys are wanting.
"We're going to get someone who can step right in and contribute to what we're trying to do," Jones said.
