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Breaking down the five worst Cowboys draft classes of the Jerry Jones era
By SportsDayDFW.com Contact SportsDayDFW.com on Twitter
SportsDayDFW
Some years are better than others. That's how it goes in life, business, and, yes, even drafting. The Cowboys know this all too well. While they have assembled some richly-talented rookie classes since Jerry Jones bought the franchise in 1989, they have also jeopardized their future at different points by misjudging an entire year's worth of prospects. Here's a look at the five worst draft classes the Cowboys have put together with Jerry Jones at the helm:
No. 5: Class of 2006
From top to bottom, this group was an abject disappointment. Together, they started 34 games for the Cowboys. And less than six years after they were picked, only one player - Jason Hatcher - remains on the roster.
Yet the progression of Hatcher from reserve to solid contributor hasn't been a compelling enough story to make people forget about the failure of Carpenter - the frontman in this sad-sack group.
During four dreadful seasons in Dallas, the former first-round pick was inserted into the starting lineup only three times and earned a reputation for being soft. Eventually, the linebacker was traded in May 2010 for another stiff, offensive lineman Alex Barron.
And by the time that deal was finalized, this class already stunk to high heaven. Receiver Skyler Green became the highest draft pick to be cut out of training camp since 1997, rejoined the team, then switched positions and was released again. Fasano was nothing more than a bit player before he was traded to Miami only days before the Cowboys selected his replacement, Martellus Bennett, in April 2008. And Montavious Stanley never appeared in a regular-season game for the Cowboys, who watched as he, Fasano, Carpenter and Pat McQuistan performed better with other teams than they did with their original one.
It wasn't until Hatcher started 10 games in 2011 that the Cowboys redeemed some decent value from one of the players they drafted that year. But Hatcher never did enough to save this class from being a bust.
Round; Pk; Name; Position; School
Round 1; 18; Bobby Carpenter; LB; Ohio State
Round 2; 53; Anthony Fasano; TE; Notre Dame
Round 3; 92; Jason Hatcher; DE; Grambling State
Round 4; 125; Skyler Green; WR; LSU
Round 5; 138; Pat Watkins; S; Florida State
Round 6; 182; Montavious Stanley; DT; Louisville
Round 7; 211; Pat McQuistan; OT; Weber State
Round 7; 224; E.J. Whitley; C; Texas Tech
No. 4: Class of 2000
Dallas Cowboys head coach Dave Campo, left, and owner Jerry Jones, right, pose with new draft choice Dwayne Goodrich and his new jersey during a press conference at Valley Ranch.
The Dave Campo regime was doomed from the very beginning. Before he ever coached a game, the Cowboys' freefall he presided over was kick-started with a series of blunders made in the draft room. In the final year of the last millennium, the Cowboys had five picks and none in the first round. For that reason, expectations were modest before Dallas made its selections.
Even so, by 2004, when every player chosen in 2000 was gone from Valley Ranch, the Cowboys couldn't help but feel disappointed with the end results.
Their efforts to fortify their secondary had backfired as the three cornerback prospects they had acquired - Dwayne Goodrich, Kareem Larrimore and Mario Edwards - never blossomed into the players the Cowboys hoped they'd become.
Goodrich, the second-round pick the team once coveted, started only one game and was beset by injuries before his career dissolved when he was convicted in 2003 of criminally-negligent homicide for causing two hit-and-run deaths. Larrimore, plagued by off-the-field issues, played in 19 games before the Cowboys lost patience and released him in October 2001. And while Edwards, a sixth-round pick, proved to be the best of the bunch, he made only four interceptions during his tenure in Dallas.
Yet the cornerbacks drafted that year weren't the only ones who gave the Cowboys poor returns on their investment. So did Orantes Grant, a linebacker best known for losing a weight-room fight with offensive tackle Javiar Collins during an episode of "Hard Knocks."
In two seasons with the Cowboys, Grant started one game was nothing more than a bit player. Like Grant, running back Michael Wiley, a fifth-round pick, rarely distinguished himself and never gained more than 250 rushing yards in a season before the Cowboys kicked him to the curb in 2003.
By that point, Campo, who led the Cowboys to a horrendous 15-33 record in three seasons, had already been fired and the 2000 class was beyond redemption.
Round; Pk.; Player; Position; School
Round 2; 49; Dwayne Goodrich; CB; Tennessee
Round 4; 109; Kareem Larrimore; CB; West Texas A&M
Round 5; 144; Michael Wiley; RB; Ohio State
Round 6; 180; Mario Edwards; CB; Florida State
Round 7; 219; Orantes Grant; LB; Georgia
No. 3: Class of 2001
There was no second-guessing. Analysts criticized the pick from the very beginning. But Cowboys owner Jerry Jones defended the choice of Quincy Carter, the first quarterback chosen by Dallas in the first two rounds since Steve Walsh was acquired in the 1989 supplemental draft.
"We want a perception among the team and the fans that we have a player that gives us a chance to win it all," Jones said.
Three years later, the Cowboys waived Carter, a player whose career was derailed by substance-abuse problems. Carter's sudden demise tainted the 2001 draft class, which had already been dismissed as a bad bunch. But as disappointing as his tenure in Dallas was, Carter still started more games for the Cowboys - 31 - than any other player drafted that year.
He also made a greater impact.
The Cowboys' other second-round pick, safety Tony Dixon, hauled in only one interception in four seasons with Dallas and never proved to be a particularly effective run defender. Defensive tackle Willie Blade had three different stints with the Cowboys, but a questionable work ethic rendered him a non-factor. And linebacker Markus Steele was gradually demoted to a special teams role until he was deemed expendable three years after he was drafted.
The only player judged to have surpassed expectations was Matt Lehr, an interior lineman who started 16 games at center in 2003.
But Lehr was released the following year. And by the end of 2005, every player from the Class of 2001 was gone. In retrospect, some probably find it hard to believe they had been there in the first place.
Round; Pk.; Player; Position; School
Round 2; 53; Quincy Carter; QB; Georgia
Round 2; 56; Tony Dixon; S; Alabama
Round 3; 93; Willie Blade; DT; Mississippi State
Round 4; 122; Markus Steele; LB; USC
Round 5; 137; Matt Lehr; G; Virginia Tech
Round 6; 171; Daleroy Stewart; DT; Southern Mississippi
Round 7; 207; Colston Weatherington; DE; Central Missouri
Round 7; 240; John Nix; DT; Southern Miss
Round 7; 242; Char-ron Dorsey; T; Florida State
No. 2: Class of 2009
Among the least memorable of the calss was tackle Robert Brewster, the third-round pick that appeared in one game but never played a snap. And who couldn't forget DeAngelo Smith and Mike Mickens, the two defensive backs from Cincinnati who were cut from the active roster after their first training camp?
Or how about Jason Williams, the linebacker from a small school who was taken in the third round and then released after playing in 10 games because he couldn't quite grasp the defense?
Of course, this class, which featured no first- or second-round picks, was the direct product of an ill-conceived plan to select players judged capable of enhancing the special teams units. What the Cowboys may have failed to consider was whether some of these guys could actually contribute on, you know, offense and defense. They then found that out the hard way, and when they did, they couldn't have been too happy.
Round; Pk.; Player; Position; School
Round 3; 69; Jason Williams; LB; Western Illinois
Round 3; 75; Robert Brewster; T; Ball State
Round 4; 101; Stephen McGee; QB; Texas A&M
Round 4; 110; Victor Butler; DE; Oregon State
Round 4; 120; Brandon Williams; DE; Texas Tech
Round 5; 143; DeAngelo Smith; CB; Cincinnati
Round 5; 166; Michael Hamlin; S; Clemson
Round 5; 172; David Buehler; K; USC
Round 6; 197; Stephen Hodge; S; TCU
Round 6; 208; John Phillips; TE; Virginia
Round 7; 227; Mike Mickens; CB; Cincinnati
Round 7; 229; Manuel Johnson; WR; Oklahoma
No. 1: Class of 1995
There is no singular event that caused the Cowboys' slide toward mediocrity that has unfolded over the last 16 seasons. But some could make the case that the woeful draft class of 1995 kick-started the decline.
Before the Cowboys launched their last Super Bowl run later that year, the organization assembled a group of misfits that would made no significant impact and instead had deleterious effect on the long-term prospects of the team.
Perhaps overvaluing the worth of the veterans on the roster, the Cowboys traded away their first-round pick, the No. 28 selection, and then proceeded to draft a series of players who collectively would contribute only 51 starts during their time in Dallas.
Among this bad bunch was Sherman Williams, who remained permanently in the shadow of Hall-of-Fame running back Emmitt Smith, was careless with the football and rushed for only 1,162 yards in his career.
Guard Shane Hannah, meanwhile, may have been the biggest Cowboys' draft bust of all time. The second-round pick never appeared in a regular-season game after a severe knee injury and burnout conspired to end his brief tenure with the Cowboys. But Hannah wasn't the only one who practically gave Dallas nothing in return. Together, Linc Harden, Edward Hervey, Dana Howard and Oscar Sturgis played a combined total of one game for the Cowboys. Yes, just one.
It's no wonder the Cowboys couldn't sustain the success achieved during the dynasty era of the early-1990s. A year of wasted picks set the franchise back and by the new millennium the consequences were devastating.
Round; Pk.; Player; Position; School
Round 2; 46; Sherman Williams; RB; Alabama
Round 2; 59; Kendell Watkins; TE; Missippi State
Round 2; 63; Shane Hannah; G; Michigan State
Round 3; 92; Charlie Williams; DB; Bowling Gren
Round 4; 110; Eric Bjornson; WR; Washington
Round 4; 129; Alundis Brice; DB; Mississippi
Round 4; 130; Linc Harden; LB; Oklahoma State
Round 5; 166; Edward Hervey; WR; USC
Round 5; 168; Dana Howard; LB; Illinois
Round 7; 236; Oscar Sturgis; DE; North Carolina
Round 3*; Darren Benson; DT; Trinity Valley (TX)
*Supplemental Draft Pick
Click here to see the five best Cowboys drafts of the Jerry Jones era.
By SportsDayDFW.com Contact SportsDayDFW.com on Twitter
SportsDayDFWSome years are better than others. That's how it goes in life, business, and, yes, even drafting. The Cowboys know this all too well. While they have assembled some richly-talented rookie classes since Jerry Jones bought the franchise in 1989, they have also jeopardized their future at different points by misjudging an entire year's worth of prospects. Here's a look at the five worst draft classes the Cowboys have put together with Jerry Jones at the helm:
No. 5: Class of 2006
From top to bottom, this group was an abject disappointment. Together, they started 34 games for the Cowboys. And less than six years after they were picked, only one player - Jason Hatcher - remains on the roster.
Yet the progression of Hatcher from reserve to solid contributor hasn't been a compelling enough story to make people forget about the failure of Carpenter - the frontman in this sad-sack group.
During four dreadful seasons in Dallas, the former first-round pick was inserted into the starting lineup only three times and earned a reputation for being soft. Eventually, the linebacker was traded in May 2010 for another stiff, offensive lineman Alex Barron.
And by the time that deal was finalized, this class already stunk to high heaven. Receiver Skyler Green became the highest draft pick to be cut out of training camp since 1997, rejoined the team, then switched positions and was released again. Fasano was nothing more than a bit player before he was traded to Miami only days before the Cowboys selected his replacement, Martellus Bennett, in April 2008. And Montavious Stanley never appeared in a regular-season game for the Cowboys, who watched as he, Fasano, Carpenter and Pat McQuistan performed better with other teams than they did with their original one.
It wasn't until Hatcher started 10 games in 2011 that the Cowboys redeemed some decent value from one of the players they drafted that year. But Hatcher never did enough to save this class from being a bust.
Round; Pk; Name; Position; School
Round 1; 18; Bobby Carpenter; LB; Ohio State
Round 2; 53; Anthony Fasano; TE; Notre Dame
Round 3; 92; Jason Hatcher; DE; Grambling State
Round 4; 125; Skyler Green; WR; LSU
Round 5; 138; Pat Watkins; S; Florida State
Round 6; 182; Montavious Stanley; DT; Louisville
Round 7; 211; Pat McQuistan; OT; Weber State
Round 7; 224; E.J. Whitley; C; Texas Tech
No. 4: Class of 2000
Dallas Cowboys head coach Dave Campo, left, and owner Jerry Jones, right, pose with new draft choice Dwayne Goodrich and his new jersey during a press conference at Valley Ranch.
The Dave Campo regime was doomed from the very beginning. Before he ever coached a game, the Cowboys' freefall he presided over was kick-started with a series of blunders made in the draft room. In the final year of the last millennium, the Cowboys had five picks and none in the first round. For that reason, expectations were modest before Dallas made its selections.
Even so, by 2004, when every player chosen in 2000 was gone from Valley Ranch, the Cowboys couldn't help but feel disappointed with the end results.
Their efforts to fortify their secondary had backfired as the three cornerback prospects they had acquired - Dwayne Goodrich, Kareem Larrimore and Mario Edwards - never blossomed into the players the Cowboys hoped they'd become.
Goodrich, the second-round pick the team once coveted, started only one game and was beset by injuries before his career dissolved when he was convicted in 2003 of criminally-negligent homicide for causing two hit-and-run deaths. Larrimore, plagued by off-the-field issues, played in 19 games before the Cowboys lost patience and released him in October 2001. And while Edwards, a sixth-round pick, proved to be the best of the bunch, he made only four interceptions during his tenure in Dallas.
Yet the cornerbacks drafted that year weren't the only ones who gave the Cowboys poor returns on their investment. So did Orantes Grant, a linebacker best known for losing a weight-room fight with offensive tackle Javiar Collins during an episode of "Hard Knocks."
In two seasons with the Cowboys, Grant started one game was nothing more than a bit player. Like Grant, running back Michael Wiley, a fifth-round pick, rarely distinguished himself and never gained more than 250 rushing yards in a season before the Cowboys kicked him to the curb in 2003.
By that point, Campo, who led the Cowboys to a horrendous 15-33 record in three seasons, had already been fired and the 2000 class was beyond redemption.
Round; Pk.; Player; Position; School
Round 2; 49; Dwayne Goodrich; CB; Tennessee
Round 4; 109; Kareem Larrimore; CB; West Texas A&M
Round 5; 144; Michael Wiley; RB; Ohio State
Round 6; 180; Mario Edwards; CB; Florida State
Round 7; 219; Orantes Grant; LB; Georgia
No. 3: Class of 2001
There was no second-guessing. Analysts criticized the pick from the very beginning. But Cowboys owner Jerry Jones defended the choice of Quincy Carter, the first quarterback chosen by Dallas in the first two rounds since Steve Walsh was acquired in the 1989 supplemental draft.
"We want a perception among the team and the fans that we have a player that gives us a chance to win it all," Jones said.
Three years later, the Cowboys waived Carter, a player whose career was derailed by substance-abuse problems. Carter's sudden demise tainted the 2001 draft class, which had already been dismissed as a bad bunch. But as disappointing as his tenure in Dallas was, Carter still started more games for the Cowboys - 31 - than any other player drafted that year.
He also made a greater impact.
The Cowboys' other second-round pick, safety Tony Dixon, hauled in only one interception in four seasons with Dallas and never proved to be a particularly effective run defender. Defensive tackle Willie Blade had three different stints with the Cowboys, but a questionable work ethic rendered him a non-factor. And linebacker Markus Steele was gradually demoted to a special teams role until he was deemed expendable three years after he was drafted.
The only player judged to have surpassed expectations was Matt Lehr, an interior lineman who started 16 games at center in 2003.
But Lehr was released the following year. And by the end of 2005, every player from the Class of 2001 was gone. In retrospect, some probably find it hard to believe they had been there in the first place.
Round; Pk.; Player; Position; School
Round 2; 53; Quincy Carter; QB; Georgia
Round 2; 56; Tony Dixon; S; Alabama
Round 3; 93; Willie Blade; DT; Mississippi State
Round 4; 122; Markus Steele; LB; USC
Round 5; 137; Matt Lehr; G; Virginia Tech
Round 6; 171; Daleroy Stewart; DT; Southern Mississippi
Round 7; 207; Colston Weatherington; DE; Central Missouri
Round 7; 240; John Nix; DT; Southern Miss
Round 7; 242; Char-ron Dorsey; T; Florida State
No. 2: Class of 2009
Among the least memorable of the calss was tackle Robert Brewster, the third-round pick that appeared in one game but never played a snap. And who couldn't forget DeAngelo Smith and Mike Mickens, the two defensive backs from Cincinnati who were cut from the active roster after their first training camp?
Or how about Jason Williams, the linebacker from a small school who was taken in the third round and then released after playing in 10 games because he couldn't quite grasp the defense?
Of course, this class, which featured no first- or second-round picks, was the direct product of an ill-conceived plan to select players judged capable of enhancing the special teams units. What the Cowboys may have failed to consider was whether some of these guys could actually contribute on, you know, offense and defense. They then found that out the hard way, and when they did, they couldn't have been too happy.
Round; Pk.; Player; Position; School
Round 3; 69; Jason Williams; LB; Western Illinois
Round 3; 75; Robert Brewster; T; Ball State
Round 4; 101; Stephen McGee; QB; Texas A&M
Round 4; 110; Victor Butler; DE; Oregon State
Round 4; 120; Brandon Williams; DE; Texas Tech
Round 5; 143; DeAngelo Smith; CB; Cincinnati
Round 5; 166; Michael Hamlin; S; Clemson
Round 5; 172; David Buehler; K; USC
Round 6; 197; Stephen Hodge; S; TCU
Round 6; 208; John Phillips; TE; Virginia
Round 7; 227; Mike Mickens; CB; Cincinnati
Round 7; 229; Manuel Johnson; WR; Oklahoma
No. 1: Class of 1995
There is no singular event that caused the Cowboys' slide toward mediocrity that has unfolded over the last 16 seasons. But some could make the case that the woeful draft class of 1995 kick-started the decline.
Before the Cowboys launched their last Super Bowl run later that year, the organization assembled a group of misfits that would made no significant impact and instead had deleterious effect on the long-term prospects of the team.
Perhaps overvaluing the worth of the veterans on the roster, the Cowboys traded away their first-round pick, the No. 28 selection, and then proceeded to draft a series of players who collectively would contribute only 51 starts during their time in Dallas.
Among this bad bunch was Sherman Williams, who remained permanently in the shadow of Hall-of-Fame running back Emmitt Smith, was careless with the football and rushed for only 1,162 yards in his career.
Guard Shane Hannah, meanwhile, may have been the biggest Cowboys' draft bust of all time. The second-round pick never appeared in a regular-season game after a severe knee injury and burnout conspired to end his brief tenure with the Cowboys. But Hannah wasn't the only one who practically gave Dallas nothing in return. Together, Linc Harden, Edward Hervey, Dana Howard and Oscar Sturgis played a combined total of one game for the Cowboys. Yes, just one.
It's no wonder the Cowboys couldn't sustain the success achieved during the dynasty era of the early-1990s. A year of wasted picks set the franchise back and by the new millennium the consequences were devastating.
Round; Pk.; Player; Position; School
Round 2; 46; Sherman Williams; RB; Alabama
Round 2; 59; Kendell Watkins; TE; Missippi State
Round 2; 63; Shane Hannah; G; Michigan State
Round 3; 92; Charlie Williams; DB; Bowling Gren
Round 4; 110; Eric Bjornson; WR; Washington
Round 4; 129; Alundis Brice; DB; Mississippi
Round 4; 130; Linc Harden; LB; Oklahoma State
Round 5; 166; Edward Hervey; WR; USC
Round 5; 168; Dana Howard; LB; Illinois
Round 7; 236; Oscar Sturgis; DE; North Carolina
Round 3*; Darren Benson; DT; Trinity Valley (TX)
*Supplemental Draft Pick
Click here to see the five best Cowboys drafts of the Jerry Jones era.
