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Jeff Sullivan
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
Last week, in this very space, we documented the first 25 drafts of the Dallas Cowboys to see who, in retrospect, would've, could've and should've made for a more productive pick. Here are the guidelines, verbatim from last week's column:
Now, to play this little fantasy game, one needs to be somewhat realistic. In the midst of the Roger Staubach Era, no one can fault the brass for not taking Dan Fouts. Also, we're not going to blame Gil Brandt and Tex Schramm for missing on a late-round pick when we're talking first round, i.e. - Looking back, no one can criticize the other 31 teams for taking Tom Brady when the Patriots themselves waited until the sixth round and the 199th overall pick in 2000.
For years when the Cowboys didn't have a first-round pick, we'll just use their first selection. (Again, we reviewed the first 25 years of drafts last week, so this time around, it's 1986-2010.)
1986: Drafted: WR Mike Sherrard at No. 18. Should've: First and foremost, this was by no means a bad pick, just a case of dreadful and unfortunate circumstance. After a stellar rookie campaign, 744 yards and a team-best five TD catches - this with mostly Steve Pelluer throwing to him - Sherrard broke his leg twice in as many years. Three-time Pro Bowl OT Will Wolford was taken two picks later by the Bills, but still, no regrets here.
1987: Drafted: DT Danny Noonan at No. 12. Should've: Yes, the Cowboys drafted NOONAN! ... just not the fictional character from the comedy classic Caddyshack. This version, the defensive tackle, wasn't brutal, but wasn't much better, with 15.0 sacks in six seasons. None of the ensuing 18 front-seven picks even made a Pro Bowl, so this wasn't a miss in terms of available talent. Two All-Pro offensive tackles were taken later in the first in Harris Barton and Bruce Armstrong.
1988: Drafted: WR Michael Irvin at No. 11. Should've: Much stronger first-round than what it's remembered for - mainly because LB Aundray Bruce went No. 1 overall - with 15 of the first 24 picks earning Pro Bowl honors. And while Irvin was considered a bust for three years, he's now residing in Canton, so draft guru Brandt, who really deserves consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, went out on top. Also snagged LB Ken Norton Jr. in the second. By the way, what a draft class of wideouts with Tim Brown, Sterling Sharpe, five-time Pro Bowler Anthony Miller, Flipper Anderson, Brian Blades and Brett Perriman also coming out that year.
1989: Drafted: QB Troy Aikman at No. 1. Should've: Wow. Just wow. Four of the first five picks are currently enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Aikman, Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas and Deion Sanders. Always take the franchise quarterback when he's available, no matter the talent on the board, and Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones hit the jackpot with Aikman. And from the 39th overall pick through the 85th, of the six players who earned Pro Bowl status, three were drafted by Dallas in FB Daryl "Moose" Johnston, C Mark Stepnoski and DE Tony Tolbert.
1990: Drafted: RB Emmitt Smith at No. 17. Should've: Think this one worked out pretty well. Consider the next two running backs taken were Darrell Thompson and Steve Broussard and Smith's selection is appreciated all the more.
1991: Drafted: DT Russell Maryland at No. 1. Should've: Whether the Cowboys traded with the Patriots for the No. 1 overall pick to select WR Raghib "Rocket" Ismail or not is irrelevant some two decades removed, as he fled to the Canadian Football League and Dallas went defense. This wasn't a loaded draft in the least, not a single player has been inducted into the Hall of Fame yet and there's a real possibility that won't happen for another five years with Brett Favre. Maryland was a solid and safe choice. S Eric Turner went second, WR Herman Moore 10th, although the Cowboys did quite well with Alvin Harper two selections thereafter.
1992: Drafted: CB Kevin Smith at No. 17. Should've: A critic of the highest order could say CB Dale Carter, who was taken three picks later, was Defensive Rookie of the Year and a four-time Pro Bowler, but Smith was a solid shutdown corner for nine seasons and helped win a trio of Super Bowl rings. And here's guessing even today his teammates would take Smith over Carter in a nanosecond. Incredible haul in this draft, with LB Robert Jones also a first-rounder and WR Jimmy Smith and S Darren Woodson in the second. Alas, Smith racked up 12,287 yards, but with Jacksonville rather than Dallas.
1993: Drafted: WR Kevin Williams in the second round, No. 46 overall. Should've: Dallas traded out of the first round, not missing out on much in the process, and tabbed Williams and LB Darrin Smith in the second. No Pro Bowlers were taken the 19 ensuing picks after Williams, so not a bad choice in retrospect. Third round offered some talent in G Will Shields and S John Lynch.
1994: Drafted: DE Shante Carver at No. 23. Should've: And thus we begin the downhill spiral after six straight stellar, franchise-alternating drafts. Carver played 52 games, started 26, and registered 11.5 sacks. Amongst the ensuing 14 picks were perennial Pro Bowl offensive linemen Tre' Johnson and Kevin Mawae and WR Isaac Bruce. In defense of the Cowboys, they did tab future Hall of Famer Larry Allen with the 46th pick.
1995: Drafted: RB Sherman Williams in the second round, No. 46 overall. Should've: Ouch. As in 47 papers cuts followed by a lengthy swim in salt water. The Cowboys traded the No. 28 overall pick to Tampa Bay for two second-round selections, them being Williams and G Shane Hannah, who didn't even make the team out of camp. The Bucs took future Hall of Fame LB Derrick Brooks. And as far as running backs go, the next one taken after Williams was another future Hall of Famer in Curtis Martin. Ouch.
1996: Drafted: DE Kavika Pittman in the second round, No. 37 overall. Should've: Somewhat serviceable. Pittman lasted four seasons before bolting for Denver. WR Muhsin Muhammad and S Brian Dawkins were taken later in the second, and would've looked just fine in Silver and Blue thanks.
1997: Drafted: TE David LaFleur at No. 22. Should've: There were two tight ends taken in the first round of this draft. One, Tony Gonzalez, taken at No. 13, is headed for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The other, well, isn't. The Cowboys actually traded up three slots to take LaFleur, too. The best pick would've been DL Trevor Pryce, who went No. 28 to Denver. At least Dallas didn't select the player taken immediately before Pryce, that being WR Rae Carruth. Some really solid picks in the second and third rounds, including RB Tike Barber, QB Jake Plummer, RB Corey Dillon, S Darren Sharper, CB Ronde Barber, DE Jason Taylor and LB Dexter Coakley, who was picked by Dallas with the 65th pick.
1998: Drafted: DE Greg Ellis at No. 8. Should've: Remembered as the "Randy Moss Draft," Ellis was a solid pick here, going on to lead the Cowboys in sacks six times. Other options, sans Moss, were RB Fred Taylor, OT Tra Thomas and linebackers Keith Brooking and Takeo Spikes.
1999: Drafted: DE Ebenezer Ekuban at No. 20. Should've: "Double E" ended up having a decent career, with 36.5 sacks, but most of that came after his five mostly forgettable seasons in Dallas. Three selections later, the Bills tabbed CB Antoine Winfield, who has earned Pro Bowl invites in each of the last three seasons. Also taken later in the first round were DE Patrick Kerney and LB Al Wilson. Worth noting that the Cowboys also drafted DE Peppi Zellner in the fourth. Why? Just because it's fun to say Peppi Zellner.
2000: Drafted: CB Dwayne Goodrich in the second round, No. 49 overall. Should've: They should've not traded two first-round picks to Seattle for WR Joey Galloway. The Seahawks first-rounder this year was RB Shaun Alexander, the 2005 NFL MVP and a member of the league's most recent All-Decade team. As for Goodrich, there wasn't really a ton of talent still available with the possible exception of LB Marcus Washington.
2001: Drafted: QB Quincy Carter in the second round, No. 53 overall. Should've: The second Galloway first-rounder would've been No. 7 overall in a talent-rich class that saw 20 of the first 36 selections play in at least a Pro Bowl. For the record, San Francisco wound up with the seventh pick and took DE Andre Carter, who has 66 sacks in his 10-year career. As for the Quincy Carter selection, current All-Pro S Adrian Wilson was tabbed eight picks later.
2002: Drafted: S Roy Williams at No. 8. Should've: Tough to argue against a five-time Pro Bowl selection, and one of the most popular players in recent franchise history, but DE Dwight Freeney was taken three picks later, not to mention likely future Hall of Famer Ed Reed at No. 24. Still, Williams was a solid pick.
2003: Drafted: CB Terence Newman at No. 5. Should've: There's been some 13 Pro Bowlers from this first round, including S Troy Polamalu and CB Nnamdi Asomugha, but Newman has been vastly underappreciated in his eight years in Dallas. Two Pro Bowl nods, which should be closer to four or five, and a superb tackler in the open field. Also taken in the top-10 were OT Jordan Goss, DT Kevin Williams and DE Terrell Suggs.
2004: Drafted: RB Julius Jones in the second round, No. 43 overall. Should've: Dallas dealt its first-round pick to Buffalo, who used the No. 22 selection on QB J.P. Losman, although it should be noted that if the Cowboys kept the pick and went running back, perennial Pro Bowler Steven Jackson was taken two selections after Losman. And the choice after Jones in the second? Injury-prone S Bob Sanders, the 2007 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
2005: Drafted: DE DeMarcus Ware at No. 11. Should've: Not since Emmitt Smith in 1990 has a draft pick turned out better for the Cowboys. Not so much with their second first-round pick that year, DE Marcus Spears at No. 20. Four Pro Bowlers were taken after him in the first round, including QB Aaron Rodgers (keep in mind Tony Romo had yet thrown an NFL pass), WR Roddy White, TE Heath Miller and G Logan Mankins.
2006: Drafted: LB Bobby Carpenter at No. 18. Should've: If the Cowboys were set on taking a linebacker, DeMeco Ryans was the first pick of the second round, while seven Pro Bowlers were taken between Carpenter and him, including CB Antonio Cromartie, DE Tamba Hali, G Davin Joseph, RB DeAngelo Williams, TE Marcedes Lewis, C Nick Mangold and RB Joseph Addai.
2007: Drafted: DE Anthony Spencer at No. 26. Should've: Really couldn't have done much better the first day of the draft, with the Cowboys dealing their first-rounder to Cleveland, who took bust QB Brady Quinn, for first-and second-round picks in 2008. Then, via a deal with the Eagles, Dallas took the player they wanted all along in DE Anthony Spencer. No complaints here.
2008: Drafted: RB Felix Jones at No. 22. Should've: This one needs at least another two or three years before fairly reviewing, but after taking Jones, the Cowboys tabbed CB Mike Jenkins three picks later. The four running backs taken immediately after Jones were Rashard Mendenhall, Chris Johnson, Matt Forte and Ray Rice, so certainly there's some catch-up work ahead. The jury is still out on Jenkins, too, as the two corners tabbed after him were Antoine Cason and Brandon Flowers, each of whom produced better 2010 campaigns.
2009: Drafted: LB Jason Williams in the third round, No. 69 overall. Should've: The Lions took TE Brandon Pettigrew with the first-rounder acquired in the Roy Williams deal, while four of the next six picks have proven to be absolute studs in C Alex Mack, WR Percy Harvin, OT Michael Oher and LB Clay Matthews. As for Williams in the third, Steelers WR Mike Wallace was taken later in the round.
2010: Drafted: WR Dez Bryant at No. 24. Should've: Obviously way too early for judgment here, but few, if any, would second guess this pick. Bryant appears destined for greatness.
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
Last week, in this very space, we documented the first 25 drafts of the Dallas Cowboys to see who, in retrospect, would've, could've and should've made for a more productive pick. Here are the guidelines, verbatim from last week's column:
Now, to play this little fantasy game, one needs to be somewhat realistic. In the midst of the Roger Staubach Era, no one can fault the brass for not taking Dan Fouts. Also, we're not going to blame Gil Brandt and Tex Schramm for missing on a late-round pick when we're talking first round, i.e. - Looking back, no one can criticize the other 31 teams for taking Tom Brady when the Patriots themselves waited until the sixth round and the 199th overall pick in 2000.
For years when the Cowboys didn't have a first-round pick, we'll just use their first selection. (Again, we reviewed the first 25 years of drafts last week, so this time around, it's 1986-2010.)
1986: Drafted: WR Mike Sherrard at No. 18. Should've: First and foremost, this was by no means a bad pick, just a case of dreadful and unfortunate circumstance. After a stellar rookie campaign, 744 yards and a team-best five TD catches - this with mostly Steve Pelluer throwing to him - Sherrard broke his leg twice in as many years. Three-time Pro Bowl OT Will Wolford was taken two picks later by the Bills, but still, no regrets here.
1987: Drafted: DT Danny Noonan at No. 12. Should've: Yes, the Cowboys drafted NOONAN! ... just not the fictional character from the comedy classic Caddyshack. This version, the defensive tackle, wasn't brutal, but wasn't much better, with 15.0 sacks in six seasons. None of the ensuing 18 front-seven picks even made a Pro Bowl, so this wasn't a miss in terms of available talent. Two All-Pro offensive tackles were taken later in the first in Harris Barton and Bruce Armstrong.
1988: Drafted: WR Michael Irvin at No. 11. Should've: Much stronger first-round than what it's remembered for - mainly because LB Aundray Bruce went No. 1 overall - with 15 of the first 24 picks earning Pro Bowl honors. And while Irvin was considered a bust for three years, he's now residing in Canton, so draft guru Brandt, who really deserves consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, went out on top. Also snagged LB Ken Norton Jr. in the second. By the way, what a draft class of wideouts with Tim Brown, Sterling Sharpe, five-time Pro Bowler Anthony Miller, Flipper Anderson, Brian Blades and Brett Perriman also coming out that year.
1989: Drafted: QB Troy Aikman at No. 1. Should've: Wow. Just wow. Four of the first five picks are currently enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Aikman, Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas and Deion Sanders. Always take the franchise quarterback when he's available, no matter the talent on the board, and Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones hit the jackpot with Aikman. And from the 39th overall pick through the 85th, of the six players who earned Pro Bowl status, three were drafted by Dallas in FB Daryl "Moose" Johnston, C Mark Stepnoski and DE Tony Tolbert.
1990: Drafted: RB Emmitt Smith at No. 17. Should've: Think this one worked out pretty well. Consider the next two running backs taken were Darrell Thompson and Steve Broussard and Smith's selection is appreciated all the more.
1991: Drafted: DT Russell Maryland at No. 1. Should've: Whether the Cowboys traded with the Patriots for the No. 1 overall pick to select WR Raghib "Rocket" Ismail or not is irrelevant some two decades removed, as he fled to the Canadian Football League and Dallas went defense. This wasn't a loaded draft in the least, not a single player has been inducted into the Hall of Fame yet and there's a real possibility that won't happen for another five years with Brett Favre. Maryland was a solid and safe choice. S Eric Turner went second, WR Herman Moore 10th, although the Cowboys did quite well with Alvin Harper two selections thereafter.
1992: Drafted: CB Kevin Smith at No. 17. Should've: A critic of the highest order could say CB Dale Carter, who was taken three picks later, was Defensive Rookie of the Year and a four-time Pro Bowler, but Smith was a solid shutdown corner for nine seasons and helped win a trio of Super Bowl rings. And here's guessing even today his teammates would take Smith over Carter in a nanosecond. Incredible haul in this draft, with LB Robert Jones also a first-rounder and WR Jimmy Smith and S Darren Woodson in the second. Alas, Smith racked up 12,287 yards, but with Jacksonville rather than Dallas.
1993: Drafted: WR Kevin Williams in the second round, No. 46 overall. Should've: Dallas traded out of the first round, not missing out on much in the process, and tabbed Williams and LB Darrin Smith in the second. No Pro Bowlers were taken the 19 ensuing picks after Williams, so not a bad choice in retrospect. Third round offered some talent in G Will Shields and S John Lynch.
1994: Drafted: DE Shante Carver at No. 23. Should've: And thus we begin the downhill spiral after six straight stellar, franchise-alternating drafts. Carver played 52 games, started 26, and registered 11.5 sacks. Amongst the ensuing 14 picks were perennial Pro Bowl offensive linemen Tre' Johnson and Kevin Mawae and WR Isaac Bruce. In defense of the Cowboys, they did tab future Hall of Famer Larry Allen with the 46th pick.
1995: Drafted: RB Sherman Williams in the second round, No. 46 overall. Should've: Ouch. As in 47 papers cuts followed by a lengthy swim in salt water. The Cowboys traded the No. 28 overall pick to Tampa Bay for two second-round selections, them being Williams and G Shane Hannah, who didn't even make the team out of camp. The Bucs took future Hall of Fame LB Derrick Brooks. And as far as running backs go, the next one taken after Williams was another future Hall of Famer in Curtis Martin. Ouch.
1996: Drafted: DE Kavika Pittman in the second round, No. 37 overall. Should've: Somewhat serviceable. Pittman lasted four seasons before bolting for Denver. WR Muhsin Muhammad and S Brian Dawkins were taken later in the second, and would've looked just fine in Silver and Blue thanks.
1997: Drafted: TE David LaFleur at No. 22. Should've: There were two tight ends taken in the first round of this draft. One, Tony Gonzalez, taken at No. 13, is headed for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The other, well, isn't. The Cowboys actually traded up three slots to take LaFleur, too. The best pick would've been DL Trevor Pryce, who went No. 28 to Denver. At least Dallas didn't select the player taken immediately before Pryce, that being WR Rae Carruth. Some really solid picks in the second and third rounds, including RB Tike Barber, QB Jake Plummer, RB Corey Dillon, S Darren Sharper, CB Ronde Barber, DE Jason Taylor and LB Dexter Coakley, who was picked by Dallas with the 65th pick.
1998: Drafted: DE Greg Ellis at No. 8. Should've: Remembered as the "Randy Moss Draft," Ellis was a solid pick here, going on to lead the Cowboys in sacks six times. Other options, sans Moss, were RB Fred Taylor, OT Tra Thomas and linebackers Keith Brooking and Takeo Spikes.
1999: Drafted: DE Ebenezer Ekuban at No. 20. Should've: "Double E" ended up having a decent career, with 36.5 sacks, but most of that came after his five mostly forgettable seasons in Dallas. Three selections later, the Bills tabbed CB Antoine Winfield, who has earned Pro Bowl invites in each of the last three seasons. Also taken later in the first round were DE Patrick Kerney and LB Al Wilson. Worth noting that the Cowboys also drafted DE Peppi Zellner in the fourth. Why? Just because it's fun to say Peppi Zellner.
2000: Drafted: CB Dwayne Goodrich in the second round, No. 49 overall. Should've: They should've not traded two first-round picks to Seattle for WR Joey Galloway. The Seahawks first-rounder this year was RB Shaun Alexander, the 2005 NFL MVP and a member of the league's most recent All-Decade team. As for Goodrich, there wasn't really a ton of talent still available with the possible exception of LB Marcus Washington.
2001: Drafted: QB Quincy Carter in the second round, No. 53 overall. Should've: The second Galloway first-rounder would've been No. 7 overall in a talent-rich class that saw 20 of the first 36 selections play in at least a Pro Bowl. For the record, San Francisco wound up with the seventh pick and took DE Andre Carter, who has 66 sacks in his 10-year career. As for the Quincy Carter selection, current All-Pro S Adrian Wilson was tabbed eight picks later.
2002: Drafted: S Roy Williams at No. 8. Should've: Tough to argue against a five-time Pro Bowl selection, and one of the most popular players in recent franchise history, but DE Dwight Freeney was taken three picks later, not to mention likely future Hall of Famer Ed Reed at No. 24. Still, Williams was a solid pick.
2003: Drafted: CB Terence Newman at No. 5. Should've: There's been some 13 Pro Bowlers from this first round, including S Troy Polamalu and CB Nnamdi Asomugha, but Newman has been vastly underappreciated in his eight years in Dallas. Two Pro Bowl nods, which should be closer to four or five, and a superb tackler in the open field. Also taken in the top-10 were OT Jordan Goss, DT Kevin Williams and DE Terrell Suggs.
2004: Drafted: RB Julius Jones in the second round, No. 43 overall. Should've: Dallas dealt its first-round pick to Buffalo, who used the No. 22 selection on QB J.P. Losman, although it should be noted that if the Cowboys kept the pick and went running back, perennial Pro Bowler Steven Jackson was taken two selections after Losman. And the choice after Jones in the second? Injury-prone S Bob Sanders, the 2007 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
2005: Drafted: DE DeMarcus Ware at No. 11. Should've: Not since Emmitt Smith in 1990 has a draft pick turned out better for the Cowboys. Not so much with their second first-round pick that year, DE Marcus Spears at No. 20. Four Pro Bowlers were taken after him in the first round, including QB Aaron Rodgers (keep in mind Tony Romo had yet thrown an NFL pass), WR Roddy White, TE Heath Miller and G Logan Mankins.
2006: Drafted: LB Bobby Carpenter at No. 18. Should've: If the Cowboys were set on taking a linebacker, DeMeco Ryans was the first pick of the second round, while seven Pro Bowlers were taken between Carpenter and him, including CB Antonio Cromartie, DE Tamba Hali, G Davin Joseph, RB DeAngelo Williams, TE Marcedes Lewis, C Nick Mangold and RB Joseph Addai.
2007: Drafted: DE Anthony Spencer at No. 26. Should've: Really couldn't have done much better the first day of the draft, with the Cowboys dealing their first-rounder to Cleveland, who took bust QB Brady Quinn, for first-and second-round picks in 2008. Then, via a deal with the Eagles, Dallas took the player they wanted all along in DE Anthony Spencer. No complaints here.
2008: Drafted: RB Felix Jones at No. 22. Should've: This one needs at least another two or three years before fairly reviewing, but after taking Jones, the Cowboys tabbed CB Mike Jenkins three picks later. The four running backs taken immediately after Jones were Rashard Mendenhall, Chris Johnson, Matt Forte and Ray Rice, so certainly there's some catch-up work ahead. The jury is still out on Jenkins, too, as the two corners tabbed after him were Antoine Cason and Brandon Flowers, each of whom produced better 2010 campaigns.
2009: Drafted: LB Jason Williams in the third round, No. 69 overall. Should've: The Lions took TE Brandon Pettigrew with the first-rounder acquired in the Roy Williams deal, while four of the next six picks have proven to be absolute studs in C Alex Mack, WR Percy Harvin, OT Michael Oher and LB Clay Matthews. As for Williams in the third, Steelers WR Mike Wallace was taken later in the round.
2010: Drafted: WR Dez Bryant at No. 24. Should've: Obviously way too early for judgment here, but few, if any, would second guess this pick. Bryant appears destined for greatness.