Anatomy of a Team Breakdown through the Draft

[HoustonFrog]

The draft is one of my favorite weekends. I like to see where teams go wrong and where a few years of bad drafts can repercussions that last for years. The DMN has been running the Cowboy draft from 1999 to now...basically the last decade. 4 years is all I have to see. I know pasting full articles is a nono here so I'll post what the first few are and you can look at the carnage after. This makes you realize the differences from the era of Jimmy to Bill. 2002s top is fine at the beginning but if you look at late picks..bad.

http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/04/grading-the-last-decade-of-cowboys-draft.html

1999

DE Ebenezer Ekuban (first round, 20th overall)

D -- Made 12.5 sacks in five seasons with Cowboys. DE Patrick Kerney, who has had four double-digit sack seasons, was among the players picked later in the first round.

OL Solomon Page (second round, 55th overall)

D -- He started for parts of four seasons. Not coincidentally, those were four pretty bad seasons.

LB Dat Nguyen (third round, 85th overall)

B-plus -- Left everything he had on the field for seven seasons before a neck injury forced his retirement. Made 502 tackles in his career.

WR Wane McGarity (fourth round, 118th overall)

D -- Had 25 of his 39 career receptions in 2000, when he also returned two punts for touchdowns.

http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/04/grading-the-last-decade-of-cowboys-draft-1.html

2000

CB Dwayne Goodrich, Tennessee (second round, 49th overall)

F - Goodrich was a bust who is serving prison time for two hit-and-run deaths after a night at a strip club.

CB Kareem Larrimore, West Texas A&M (fourth round, 109th overall)

F - Character concerns caused him to fall to the fourth, and he proved them right, leading the Cowboys to cut him a month into his second season.

RB Michael Wiley, Ohio State (fifth round, 144th overall)

D-minus - Rushed for 503 yards in three seasons

http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/04/grading-the-last-decade-of-cowboys-draft-2.html

2001

QB Quincy Carter, Georgia (second round, 53rd overall)

F -- I considered a D-minus because he was the starting QB on a playoff team. But the Cowboys reached for him in the second round and regretted it when his career went up in smoke.

S Tony Dixon, Alabama (second round, 56th overall)

F -- Started 14 games for Cowboys in four seasons and never played another down in NFL.

DT Willie Blade, Mississippi State (third round, 93rd overall)

D-minus -- Started as a rookie and released before the next season.

LB Markus Steele, USC (fourth round, 122nd overall)

D -- Started 10 games as rookie; made 46 career tackles.

http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/04/grading-the-last-decade-of-cowboys-draft-3.html

2002

SS Roy Williams, Oklahoma (first round, eighth overall)

B-minus - He was a game-changing force for four years, but his coverage flaws make him a liability in today's NFL and led to his recent release.

OG/C Andre Gurode, Colorado (second round, 37th overall)

A - It took him four years to cement his status as the starting center, but now he's a perennial Pro Bowler.

WR Antonio Bryant, Pittsburgh (second round, 63rd overall)

D - The character issues that caused him to drop in the draft cut short his time with the Cowboys.

CB Derek Ross, Ohio State (third round, 75th overall)

D-minus - Ditto the Bryant comment, but Ross didn't last as long or make as much impact.

FB Jamar Martin, Ohio State (fourth round, 129th overall)

D-minus - Blew out his knee during rookie training camp and played only 14 games for Cowboys.

CB Pete Hunter, Virginia Union (fifth round, 168th overall)

C-minus - Three interceptions, six passes broken up in three seasons