Dallas Cowboys: The steps leading to awesome draft results
By Matt Aaron
Next steps towards the Cowboys great draft …
3. They didn’t blow it. Cowboys management, for once, actually followed their draft board to the letter. They seemed to draft the best player available in every single round instead of drafting for need.
I think many Cowboys observers watched the draft, at least the first two rounds, on the edge of their seats. When the Atlanta Falcons selected Clemson cornerback A.J. Terrell, I almost screamed.
Instead, I sat there like a parakeet on my perch, holding my breath, waiting to see if management would do the smart thing and draft CeeDee Lamb, widely viewed as the best receiver in the whole shooting match. Or would they choose LSU edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson because they need a competent defensive end opposite star left end DeMarcus Lawrence?
Then they chose Lamb, and I exploded in happiness, as thousands of fans likely did all over the world. And so it began. As we all know, in round after round, the Cowboys chose the best player available, in just about every instance taking a player who was rated a round or more before the Cowboys’ drafting position.
Everyone has their favorite pick here, be it star Alabama cornerback Trevon Diggs, who the Cowboys took at pick No. 51. Or trading two fifth-round draft picks (this year’s and next year’s) to grab Wisconsin center and Travis Frederick-starter kit (as Sports illustrated podcaster Landon McCool has called him), Tyler Biadasz.
Biadasz, incidentally, was projected as high as a first-round choice in 2018, before his play fell a little after hip surgery following that season. It’s very possible that Biadasz will be the Cowboys starting center for the next decade. And the team got him for two fifth-round picks. It’s amazing.
But maybe you have a different favorite. That’s fine. The point is that Dallas followed their board and got great values with every single pick. It was a dream draft! But maybe this was possible because…
4. There didn’t seem to be any interference coming from the coaching staff.
Some fans are likely still a little peeved at former defensive coordinator Marinelli, for his interference last year. After all, America’s Team would definitely have been much better off in 2019 with Thornhill than Trysten Hill. There’s no doubt of that.
Thornhill started for the Super Bowl winners while Hill rode the bench for the also-ran Cowboys. But this year, there didn’t seem to be any interference at all from the coaching staff. None. And yet…