Dallas Cowboys meaningless win does major draft damage

The Dallas Cowboys won a morale victory defeating the Eagles in a meaningless Week 17 game on Sunday. But the draft damage it did could be costly.

Last season, the Dallas Cowboys had to make a tough choice going into their Week 17 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. Possessing a 13-2 record and having already secured home field advantage in the playoffs, the Cowboys had the option to either play their starters and try to win the meaningless game or opt to rest their stars in preparation for the postseason.

Dallas opted to rest their starters and paid dearly for it in the playoffs. With two weeks of rust to shake off, the Cowboys fell behind 21-3 early in the divisional round to the Green Bay Packers and were never able to retake the lead.

Fast forward to this past weekend. Eliminated from playoff contention by the Seattle Seahawks the previous week, the Cowboys coaching staff had another tough decision to make. Should they rest their stars in a meaningless game against, ironically, the Eagles again, or play their starters and attempt to win the contest to finish out the season on a high note?

This time, Dallas opted to go for the win. And although it was a tough game to watch, the Cowboys came out on top, 6-0, over a Philly team who pull starters at certain points in the matchup as they prepare for their playoff run.

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The Week 17 win was a morale victory for the Cowboys, giving them a 9-7 season ending record and save a bit of face for head coach Jason Garrett who had already led the team to three straight 8-8 seasons without a playoff appearance previously.

Unfortunately, winning this “throw away” game on Sunday severely damaged the Cowboys upcoming draft status. According to Senior NFL Draft Analyst for NFLDraftScout.com, Dan Brugler, the Cowboys would have owned the 16th overall selection in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft if they had lost in Week 17. With the victory, Dallas dropped an entire three spots and now own the 19th overall selection!

Brugler would go on to remind those who scoffed at the three pick drop that higher selections give teams better odds of landing better players. It also puts the team that much closer to drafting the prospect they really want.

And let’s not forget, the Cowboys not only dropped three spots in the first round … but in every round! Dropping three spots may sound trivial to some. But consider this. Rarely are there 19 players in a draft that possess true first round talent. The Cowboys 2017 first round selection, defensive end Taco Charlton, is a good example. Dallas selected the Michigan pass rusher 28th overall in the first round despite having a second round grade on him on their own draft board.

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It’s hard to argue with the mentally of going for the win despite the circumstances. It’s part of building a winning culture within your team and the organization. But you also have to understand the situation and make sure you are putting your team in the best possible position to win next season. Once again, it looks like the Dallas Cowboys may have made the wrong decision in Week 17. And, for the second year in a row, it could end up costing them dearly.

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