Dallas Cowboys: 15 best draft-day steals of all-time

Best draft-day steals by the Dallas Cowboys of all-time: 12. Erik Williams

1991 NFL Draft: Round 3, Pick No. 70

It is not often that a player from an NAIA school makes such an impact at the NFL level, but that was certainly the case for our No. 12 Cowboys draft steal of all-time. During his time at Central State, Erik Williams honed the skills that he would need for the next level. Once he got the opportunity in the NFL, he never looked back.

Williams played only sparingly as a rookie, but took over as the team’s right tackle in 1992, and would become a Pro Bowler the next season. After a car crash robbed him of most of the 1994 season, he came back in 1995 to help the team win another Super Bowl, one of three he would win with the Cowboys during his career.

The Cowboys’ No. 70 overall pick in the 1991 NFL Draft, Williams came to the team with the pick they received when they traded away quarterback Steve Walsh. That proved to be quite the steal, as Williams would go on to become an absolute beast on the interior for the Cowboys, playing a huge role inside the “Great Wall of Dallas” defensive line.

A four-time Pro Bowler during his time with the team, Williams spent nearly his entire NFL career in Dallas, finishing up with the Baltimore Ravens for only the 2001 NFL season. Affectionately referred to as “Big E,” Williams was three-times named an All-Pro. While it may have not been an exciting pick on draft day, he proved himself to be more than worth the 70th overall pick the team  got him with.