Dallas Cowboys: Six Mid-Round Draft Successes
Nov 28, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Jason Hatcher (97) runs on the field before the game against the Oakland Raiders during a NFL football game on Thanksgiving at AT&T Stadium. Dallas beat Oakland 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Jason Hatcher | DE | Round 3 | 2006
I did debate about including Jason Hatcher here. Not least because he now plays for divisional rivals Washington Redskins, but the fact he didn’t play over 400 snaps in a year for the Cowboys until 2011.
The Hatcher draft pick was another by the Cowboys deemed a reach. He didn’t become a defensive player until midway through his college career. It was a case of a work in progress for the Cowboys as opposed to the finished article. He was largely a rotational player until 2012 when his snap count nearly doubled (784) to the previous years.
In his final two years with the team he was arguably their stand out defensive player. 2012 he ranked best on PFF for defensive lineman for the Cowboys and 2013 best overall. He and DeMarcus Ware formed a resilient partnership in their final year in blue and silver. 25 sacks and 94 tackles were shared amongst the pair.
After leaving Dallas to head to the Redskins it was soon obvious there was no love lost between fans and Hatcher. As my fellow Landry Hat writer Michael Vu pointed out in a previous article, perhaps Hatcher isn’t worthy of a spot in this list after all. I’ll let you decide.
"“Outside of Jason Hatcher’s 11 sack campaign last year — on a defense ranked last — the former Cowboy totaled 16 sacks from 2006-2012. Hatcher never had more than five sacks or 30 tackles in any single season from 2006-2012.”"
With plenty of expiring contracts and free agency conundrums can the Dallas Cowboys scouting team unveil another mid round recruitment to aid the team?