I have never understood the mindset that making a premium second round draft pick is the perfect place to roll the draft dice. Take chances in rounds 4-7. Round two picks should be starting if not right away, at least showing they can soon.
Under the Jones FO, this team has done very well with first round picks but conversely have down awful in round two. It’s almost laughable how our 2nd round picks have turned out for this team. Let’s look at our 2nd round picks in the last 15 drafts:
- 2007- No selection- traded prior to draft.
- 2008- Martellius Bennett– TE. Had a good career after he left Dallas. Somehow, this team could never figure out how to pair him with Witten.
- 2009- No selection because Jerry traded the 2nd round pick to Buffalo for a 3rd and and two 4ths. Part of one of the worst drafts in Cowboys history.
- 2010- Sean Lee– LB- first round talent with a mile long injury history. He was great…when he played. He missed a whopping 58 games in his 11 year career.
- 2011- Bruce Carter– LB- a pretty prospect out of college, played in 32 games in 4 yrs in Dallas. Has had an ok NFL career.
- 2012- no 2nd round pick; traded to the rams so we could move up in round one to get Mo Claiborne with the 5th pick. Claiborne was pretty much a bust considering what this team gave up to get him.
- 2013- Gavin Escobar-TE- at total BUST. Started 7 games in 4 years and rarely played. Was completely out of the league 5 yrs after being drafted.
- 2014- DeMarcus Lawrence- DE- despite what many fans here think, DLaw has been an outstanding player. Most don’t like him because of his paycheck. He’s a 2nd rounder that has worked out here.
- 2015- Randy Gregory- DE- another of Jerry’s wild risks on a guy with great talent but struggling with well chronicled mental health and substance issues off the field. In 7 seasons, never played more than 12 games. And JJ was prepared to pay him like a star before Denver stepped in.
- 2016- Jaylon Smith- LB- another medical risk pick on a guy who was once a stud. His college knee injury was so devastating, he never got back to his potential. Somehow JJ saw him as a top 10 LB in the league and paid him accordingly. Was cut less than two years later and out of the league.
- 2017- Chidobe Awuzie- CB- turned into a decent corner yet was not deemed worth keeping. Started for the Bengals in the SB last year.
- 2018- Connor Williams- OL- drafted to play LG and played ok at times. Often overwhelmed by bull rushers and eventually became the best holder in the league with the stats to prove it. I never thought this guy was anything special. Signed with Miami this off-season.
- 2019- Trysten Hill- DT- going into his 4th NFL season, he has to be called a bust. Jury still out…kinda.
- 2020- Trayvon Diggs- CB- had an All pro season last year and is still only 24. Needs to improve his coverage skills more but he’s been the best 2nd rounder we’ve had along with DLaw.
- 2021- Kelvin Joseph- CB- we all know about the recent “person of interest” embrolio he got himself into. His off field behavior was a red flag going into last yrs draft. Which is often a green light for JJ. Too early to know how this turns out.
So in the last 15 drafts, the Cowboys drafted 12 players in the second round. If you count Jaylon Smith, only three of those 12 ever played for Dallas after their rookie deals- so far. Those guys are Sean Lee, DLaw, and Jaylon Smith. Diggs will probably get a second deal- at least we think so at this point.
With Kelvin Joseph’s potential legal woes, we may have to add another bust to this list.
THIS YEAR- Here’s hoping we draft a talented, un-injured player with no off field issues.
