The Dallas Cowboys must draft better middle-to-late rounds

With the lack of free agent additions, the Dallas Cowboys must find contributors in the middle to late rounds of the NFL Draft in order to improve.

Now that the majority of impact NFL free agents have signed elsewhere, it is clear that if the Dallas Cowboys are going to significantly improve this offseason they will do so through the draft. This is not a comforting proposition to Cowboys’ fans given the team’s inability to find impact players in the middle to late rounds of recent drafts.

Finding quality players in the first two rounds of the draft is quite easy. With the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s draft, the Cowboys could go in a number of different ways and still find a player that makes an impact.

However, the best teams in the NFL find key contributors in the later rounds of the draft. That is what Dallas must do to fill the number of holes on the current roster. But given the organization’s poor draft history in the middle rounds, there is reason to be skeptical about this plan.

Take 2015 for example. After taking defensive back Byron Jones in the first round and defensive end Randy Gregory in round two, the team failed to select another player that made even the slightest impact last season.

In round three, Dallas picked offensive tackle Chaz Green who did not see the field at all in his rookie season. Third round picks are players that should compete for starting positions if not at least earn playing time as rotational players.

Fourth round pick Damien Wilson made a whopping 15 tackles from his linebacker spot. Defensive end Ryan Russell, the team’s fifth round pick played in one game last year recording no stats.

The Cowboys’ last three draft picks, linebacker Mark Nzeocha, offensive tackle Lawrence Gibson and tight end Geoff Swain were non-factors last year as well. Therefore, it can be said that the Cowboys 2015 draft yielded only one player of significance thus far, Jones who is slated to be the teams starting free safety this year.

More from The Landry Hat

Even the team’s second round pick, Randy Gregory was lackluster recording no sacks. To make matters worse, Gregory is now suspended for the first four games of 2016 after a failed drug test.

In the 2014 draft, Dallas was able to find three players that have contributed significantly, guard Zack Martin, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence and linebacker Anthony Hitchens. However, none of the team’s final six picks panned out. (Granted, five of those picks were seventh round selections).

In fact, in the past decade the only Dallas draft picks outside of the top 100 that have made an impact for the team are wide receiver and kick returner Dwayne Harris (pick no. 176 in 2011), running back Tashard Choice (pick no. 122 in 2008), corner back Orlando Scandrick (pick no. 143 in 2008) offensive tackle Doug Free (pick no. 122 in 2007) and kicker Nick Folk (pick no. 178 in 2007).

The Cowboys have far too many weaknesses on the roster to have another draft like last year when only one player made an impact. The Cowboys must improve at identifying talent in the middle to later rounds of the draft and developing those players into solid contributors.

On Tuesday, the Dallas Cowboys hired Lionel Vital to be the senior personnel executive for the organization. The former NFL and Canadian Football League running back has been the Atlanta Falcons’ director of player personnel for the past three seasons.

Vital has been in the personnel department of five previous NFL teams since retiring as a player in 1989. He will work hand-in-hand with the Cowboys’ senior director of college and pro scouting, Will McClay.

Hopefully, having another expert in scouting and player personnel will help the Cowboys have a much more productive draft in 2016. The team cannot afford another draft that produces only one impact player if it hopes to compete for a championship in the near future.

Next: Cowboys attempting to bring in CB Patrick Robinson

Thank you for reading the above article. It’s our sincere hope you’ll visit our site often as we work really hard to provide Cowboys fans with fresh, daily content about their favorite team. Please feel free to take part in further discussions about this topic below in our comment section. All we ask is that each participant is respectful in both their responses and towards others. Thanks again and…Go Cowboys!

Home/Cowboys Draft