Cowboys currently paying for their recent draft sins

After a five game losing streak, there is plenty of blame to go around within the Dallas Cowboys organization. But maybe the bulk of that blame should be laid at the feet of those who were in the Cowboys War Room during the 2015 NFL Draft, as the current team is paying the price for those past sins.

After the first two rounds of 2015 NFL Draft, where the Cowboys drafted Connecticut cornerback/safety Byron Jones and Nebraska pass rusher Randy Gregory respectively, Dallas’ front office, coaches and scouting department made a fatal error in judgement. It’s a mistake that will likely cost this Cowboys team yet another in a quickly diminishing amount of chances to win a title.

More from The Landry Hat

It starts before the draft, with a misevaluation of the talent they had on the roster already. The Cowboys believed they had satisfactory depth at both the quarterback and running back positions. They were wrong.

The Cowboys believed quarterback’s Brandon Weeden and Dustin Vaughan were solid pieces behind Tony Romo, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary. Weeden lost all four games under center as a starter for Dallas. His short-lived two-year career with the Cowboys is likely over. And Vaughan’s play severely regressed over the offseason and he didn’t even make it past final cuts in early September.

After losing the league’s leading rusher in 2014, DeMarco Murray, to free agency this offseason, the Cowboys placed their hopes on third-year running back Joseph Randle. Murray’s primary back-up in 2014 was to form a three-headed running back-by-committee monster with veteran Darren McFadden and scat back Lance Dunbar. The Cowboys also had former second round selection Ryan Williams waiting in the wings, fresh off the practice squad.

But midway through the 2015 regular season, the injury-prone McFadden is now the Cowboys workhorse back, Dunbar is out for yet another season on Injured Reserve and both Randle and Williams are completely off the team. A majority of the Cowboys current backfield, including Christine Michael, Rod Smith and Trey Williams, weren’t even on the roster at the start of the season.

This brings me back to my original point. The Cowboys made a huge mistake in this year’s NFL Draft. After selecting Jones and Gregory, Dallas turned their attention to the offensive line. Which is likely their strongest area.

With the loss of swing tackle Jeremy Parnell to free agency this offseason, the Cowboys choose Florida’s Chaz Green (91st overall) with their third round selection. Considered a reach by many experts at the time, Green hasn’t even seen the field yet this season as he is recovering from hip surgery. Granted, Dallas had no idea at the time they would land first round talent La’el Collins as an undrafted free agent. Still, Green could have likely been had on the third day of the draft.

Then the Cowboys War Room turned their gaze to defense in the fourth and fifth rounds, drafting Minnesota linebacker Damien Wilson (127th overall) and Purdue defensive end Ryan Russell (163rd overall). Wilson appears to be an Anthony Hitchens-clone, which isn’t a bad thing. But his main contributions have come only on special teams. And Wilson was the linebacker that was out of position on the C.J. Spiller touchdown play that cost the Cowboys an overtime victory to the New Orleans Saints in Week Four. Russell has been a healthy scratch for all but one game so far this season.

To make matters worst, according to many draft analyst, the Cowboys could have likely drafted all of these players in later rounds. And at the positions in which Dallas actually needed more depth, quarterback and running back, there were many talented young players available in those later rounds.

It was known early on that the 2015 running back draft class was one of the deepest in years. And the Cowboys certainly had a pressing need in the area, after losing Murray. Yet the Cowboys chose to focus on other areas instead. And their arrogance is costing them right now. Players like Todd Gurley, David Johnson, Jeremy Langford, T.J. Yeldon, Matt Jones, Ameer Abdullah, Karlos Williams, Duke Johnson and other rookie running backs have all found success this season. Even undrafted running backs like Seattle’s Thomas Rawls have been hidden gems.

Next: The top 30 moments in Dallas Cowboys history

Although there was a severe lack of first or second round quarterback talent in this year’s draft class, highly ranked players like Baylor’s Bryce Petty and UCLA’s Brett Hundley weren’t even selected until the fourth and fifth rounds. Either would have likely done better than what Weeden or Matt Cassel have done under center with Dallas this season. Even if a rookie quarterback had lost the Cowboys last five games, at least you would be building the prospect’s experience and confidence levels for a future beyond the 35-year old Romo.

There is little doubt in my mind that the 2-5 Dallas Cowboys are currently paying for their recent draft sins. And someone needs to be evaluating the Cowboys current evaluators.

Home/Cowboys News