We often hear it takes three years to determine whether a draft was indeed a “good” draft.  I wasn’t here last year, so I will cover 2006 today, and later in the week, 2007.  At the top of every draft, you have your can’t miss prospects like Jamarcus Russell, Charles Rogers, and Ryan Leaf.  Draft grades are given Sunday night and some fans are dancing in the street.  Even those fans who’s team got an F can look forward to the prospects disproving all of the experts with their play on Sundays.  All teams SHOULD get an incomplete immediately after the draft, but they don’t.  So let’s look back at the 2006 Cowboys draft class to see whether the grades given at the time were even close (CBS Sports gave Dallas a B-, USA Today gave 2 our of 4 stars, and Sports Illustrated gave the Cowboys a C+).  Also, keeping in mind that it isn’t about who you take, but rather who you didn’t take (take Sam Bowie, please).

1st round Bobby Carpenter at 18

Pro-Bowl: No

Starter: No

Still on the team: Yes

Player(s) you could have had instead:  Antonio Cromartie, Santonio Holmes, DeAngelo Williams, Nick Mangold

Analysis:  Cromartie is a questionable character player who avoided tackles in 2009.  Holmes is a good WR, but is a #2 at best.  Drafting Williams would have been redundant considering Barber and Jones a productive duo.  Mangold is a good center and would play left guard, or force Gurode to move to guard.

2010 20/20 hindsight grade: C+

Analysis:  Bobby Carpenter is a solid nickel contributor and could be a starter on a team with less talent.  He may be a square peg, but that isn’t his fault that he was drafted by a team with round holes.  While there was some talent available that would start on the Cowboys, the players would not fill a glaring hole.

2nd round Anthony Fasano at 53rd overall (original pick 49)

Pro-Bowl: No

Starter: Yes, for the Dolphins

Still on the team: No

Player(s) you could have had instead: Marcus McNeil, Devin Hester, Maurice Jones-Drew

2010 20/20 hindsight grade: D for the Cowboys, but overall a B

Analysis: While with the Cowboys, Fasano was better known for his drops than his touchdown receptions.  While he was a solid blocker, he was traded to the Dolphins for a fourth round pick.  For the Dolphins in two seasons he has logged 65 catches and 9 touchdowns.  He also has been described as the best blocking tight end in the league.  Obviously the Cowboys would be better served to have a young tackle prospect or an amazing return man, but the pick wasn’t an awful pick.

3rd round Jason Hatcher at 92nd overall (original pick 80)

Pro-Bowl: No

Starter: No

Still on the team: Yes

Player(s) you could have had instead: Freddie Keiaho, Owen Daniels, Leon Washington, Stephen Gostkowski, Brandon Marshall

2010 20/20 hindsight grade: C+

Analysis: Hatcher is a productive backup.  While he is not a B- player, being drafted in the 3rd round improves his grade.  Gostkowski is effectively kicking in New England, but drafting a kicker in the 3rd round will get most GM’s fired.  Folk played as effectively until he imploded in 2009.  Brandon Marshall is a productive grease fire.  Under the tutelage of Terrell Owens, the team may have been explosive, just like diarrhea can be.  Messy, too messy.

4th round Skyler Green at 125th overall

Pro-Bowl: No

Starter: No

Still on the team: No

Player(s) you could have had instead: Elvis Dumervil, Willie Colon

2010 20/20 hindsight grade: F

Analysis: I don’t think Dumervil would be effective in the 3-4 defense other than as a situational pass rusher.  Colon would contribute and help solidify if not add depth to the offensive line.  Either way, this was a throw away pick.

5th round Pat Watkins at 138th overall

Pro-Bowl:

Starter:

Still on the team:

Player(s) you could have had instead: No one noteworthy between this pick and the next pick

2010 20/20 hindsight grade: B-

Analysis: Watkins isn’t a great safety, but he is a good special teams contributor and has been a warm body to occupy space in center field when called upon.  It wasn’t a great pick, but he is still on the team.

6th round Montavious Stanley at 182nd overall

Pro-Bowl:

Starter:

Still on the team:

Player(s) you could have had instead: Antoine Bethea

2010 20/20 hindsight grade: F

Analysis: Montavious gets the tourist award.  In four years he has played for six teams: Dallas, Jacksonville twice, St. Louis, Atlanta, and New Orleans.  He has zero starts in the past 2 years, but has logged 53 tackles in the last 3 years.  Bethea averages 80ish tackles per year and is a solid player.  At  the very least, he would have been a better option than Watkins.

7th round Pat McQuistan at 211th overall

Pro-Bowl: No

Starter: No

Still on the team: Yes

Player(s) you could have had instead: Cortland Finnegan

2010 20/20 hindsight grade: B+

Analysis: McQuistan provided depth on the o-line.  While in the game, he has been less than impressive.  He is a warm body and plays better then a 7th round pick when called upon.  Finnegan is a surprise just like Jay Ratliff.  I don’t blame Jerry for not drafting either him or Colston, but just like Jay Ratliff, it is great when you find that gem in the rough.  Finnegan is a tenacious cornerback.  Unfortunately, the Cowboys traded for the wrong Titans cornerback.

7th round EJ Whitley at 224th overall

Pro-Bowl: No

Starter: No

Still on the team: No.

Player(s) you could have had instead: Marques Colston

2010 20/20 hindsight grade: F

Analysis:  Another wasted pick, but the Cowboys were in good company as many 7th round picks don’t make the team.

Final analysis: The perfect draft would have been Nick Mangold in the first, Marcus McNeil in the 2nd, Brandon Marshall in the 3rd, Elvis Dumervil in the 4th, Watkins in the 5th, Antoine Bethea in the 6th, and Cortland Finnegan and Marques Colston in the 7th.  We live in the real world though.  Marshall is a pill in the locker room, Dumervil is too small to DE in the 3-4 and while he is a very good pass rush specialist, we can’t predict how he would do as an OLB.  When creating a perfect draft, you only have one of your chose players listed, it is not a good sign.

Final grade based on the misses, the 4 players still left on the team (two of which were day two players):  C-, maybe a D+ if grading on a curve.

On Friday night, the Dallas Cowboys beat the Tennessee Titans 30-10.

But in the NFL preseason, it isn’t about the final result: it’s about the individual performances.

At the first Cowboys game in Jerry Jones’ masterpiece stadium, a true billion-dollar baby, there were some individual winners. And there were some losers. Thankfully, there were more winners than losers

Winner #1: Dallas Cowboy fans

Take a look at that new stadium! Wow. Just wow. There is nothing like that place in the entire NFL. Everyone from Fox Sports gushed about it at some point, as they should have.

Winner #2: Tony Romo

Our starting quarterback put in a good, consistent, clean performance. Granted, the Titans defense is suffering from losing Albert Haynesworth, but that was still a pretty strong unit that lined up opposite Romo for most of the first half. Did he care? No. Romo went 18-of-24 for 192 yards. More importantly, he was patient in his passing and found the open receiver instead of locking in on one target (15 Cowboys caught passes on Friday night). All of our quarterbacks looked good, completing at least 75 percent of their passes with Jon Kitna and rookie Stephen McGee finding the end zone.

Winner #3: The Defense

The 3-4 is looking pretty good. There weren’t too many spectacular plays, but there were signs that guys are catching on — Anthony Spencer hauling down speedster Chris Johnson on a dumpoff from Kerry Collins was particularly impressive — and this defense is going to be a strong point. Our run defense was particulary good, limiting Johnson and LenDale White to 7 yards on four carries. Mike Jenkins did let Titans receiver Justin Gage slip by him for a touchdown, one of the low points for the Dallas defense. But I was encouraged that veteran corner Terence Newman ran over to instruct Jenkins on his blunder right after the play.

Winner #4: Kevin Ogletree

There’s a fight going on for the fifth reciver spot between Ogletree and converted quarterback Isaiah Stanback. Ogletree emerged as the clear favorite after this game, making three grabs for 37 yards. None of his catches were as pretty as his one-handed, over the shoulder touchdown reception from Stephen McGee.

Winner #5: Felix Jones

Felix Jones put all NFL defenses on notice in this game. His message was clear: pay attention to me or I’ll make you pay. His 42-yard reception to move into Tennessee territory within the final two minutes of the first half changed the game and his one-yard touchdown to cap the drive displayed his versatility.

Loser #1: Special Teams

Uuuuuuuuugh. The first play in the new stadium, a long return from Miles Austin, gets called back for a holding call. Another penalty from Gerald Sensabaugh gifts Tennessee great field position and they get their only touchdown of the game from it. Granted, it’s early and there’s time to fix these things, but if we’re going to be a serious contender, we need to fix our special teams. Even Nick Folk missed a field goal. That was uncharacteristic of him, and I hope it’s a one-time thing. One bright spot was rookie David Buehler sending two kickoffs deep into the end zone.

Loser #2: Isaiah Stanback

With the play of Kevin Ogletree, Stanback is on thin ice in the first place. And on a night where nearly every Dallas receiver caught a ball, Stanback had a big ol’ goose egg when it came to receptions. Even Keon Lattimore caught a pass for goodness’ sakes. If Ogletree can continue to produce in the offense, Stanback is gone.

Loser #3: Pat Watkins

Watkins is another guy who needs to have a strong preseason to ensure his spot on the team. So what does he do? He streaks down the field on punt return for more than 20 yards while out of bounds, gifting the Titans with 15 more penalty yards. Not good, Pat.

Loser #4: The Run Game

I wasn’t impressed with the run game on Friday night. Our stable of running backs produced a paltry 111 yards on 35 carries, a 3.2 yard average. I’m attributing this to Tennessee’s defense. Still, we need to be able to consistently run the ball if we’re going to be a playoff team.

Loser #5: Jerry Jones/The NFL

This honor has to be split. There’s a huge fuss about the height of the huge videoboard that I like to call “The Jerrytron.” Jones put it five feet above the league minimum of 85 feet and is refusing to move it. He comes across looking like the jerk even though he’s within the regulations of the NFL. Someone NFL official had to know about this and Jerry must have done his homework before hanging this $30 million behemoth. It’s just more ammo for the Cowboys/Jerry Jones haters out there and a headache for Cowboys fans. Pardon me, but I’m more worried about what’s happening on the field.

The first preseason game is like a first kiss with a pretty girl. Sure, it might feel good, but it’s probably a little awkward, you’re probably going to make way too big a deal out of it and you’re probably not going to be able to tell what’s going to happen beyond that first smooch.

Still, when the Cowboys take the field against the Oakland Raiders tonight, we’re going to get our first look into a few new players and a few old ones too. Here are a few guys I’m going to keep an eye on.

1. Roy Williams: Are there any other receivers in Dallas? Yes. But no other receiver in the NFL has been under the microscope quite like Williams. We won’t see much more two or three series of Williams with starting quarterback Tony Romo, but I’m sure that his numbers from this preseason game will be touted as an early indication of the developing connection between Romo and Williams.
2. Bobby Carpenter: Yep. I’m going to be watching Barbie. The guy has to step up big time in his role as the nickel linebacker. He should also see some time at middle backer with the second string defense. Reports from camp say that Carpenter has been much more physical against the run and that he has made improvements in his game. That was also the case last year, and we all know how last season went for Carpenter.
3. Gerald Sensabaugh: Sensabaugh probably won’t see a lot of the field, like Romo and Williams. Still, I’m eager to see what Sensabaugh can contribute in place of current Bengal Roy Williams. His addition to our pass defense should be immediately recognizable.
4. Pat Watkins: This guy is legitimately fighting for a roster spot. He has experience, but coaches are liking what they see from rookie safety Michael Hamlin and converted cornerback Alan Ball. If Watkins doesn’t contribute on defense and on special teams, he could find himself out of Dallas.
5. Martellus Bennett: Everyone is looking at Roy Williams to help make up for Terrell Owens’ lost production. I say look no further than Bennett for some of that production. ESPN’s Matt Mosley has predicted that Bennett could catch 45 passes and five or six touchdowns. I think he could get more. The Cowboys offense has been running tons of two tight end formations in training camp, and Bennett should see plenty of the field tonight.
6. Stephen McGee: McGee could eventually be Tony Romo’s replacement. In camp, has shown some signs of brilliance that could justify Dallas taking McGee in the 4th round of the 2009 draft after spending three years in an option offense and seeing his senior year cut short by injury. He has also made some rookie mistakes. It’ll be interesting to see how McGee responds to his first game against an NFL defense, although the Raiders’ third stringers probably won’t be too much tougher than some of the Big 12 defenses he faced while at Texas A&M.