History of the Dallas Cowboys 24th pick

There are many that seem to believe that the Dallas Cowboys‘ 24th pick may not net them one of the best players in the draft unless they use it to trade and move up to grab someone. While chances of getting a once-in-a-generation talent may dip a bit with a later pick, that doesn’t mean a team will necessarily miss out on a player that can help their franchise immediately when they hit the field.

Teams just need to make sure that the players they are selecting have enough value to warrant the selection. The way things are shaping up for Dallas, the front office is going to have a few players that could give them a good shot at finding a player that can come in and make an impact with the 24th pick. Mock drafts aside, we wanted to give you a bit of history about the 24th pick in past NFL drafts.

The Cowboys have had some success mixed in throughout the history of this pick. That success first came with Calvin Hill back in the 1969 NFL Draft. More recently, Dallas got Cowboys legend Dez Bryant in 2010 at 24th overall after trading up. Dallas isn’t the only team that has found impact players with the 24th pick, though.

A future Hall of Famer and one of the best players currently in the game, Aaron Rodgers, was taken back at No. 24 in 2005 by the Green Bay Packers. In 2021, the 24th pick was Najee Harris going to the Pittsburgh Steelrs. Harris had a very strong rookie season, earning a Pro Bowl nod thanks to a 1,200-yard and seven touchdown season. In other words, there’s some great luck that’s come with the No. 24 overall pick.

Learning more about the history of the 24th overall pick before the Dallas Cowboys make their selection in the 2022 NFL Draft

Here’s a list of some more quality players selected with the 24th pick over the years. All of these players were able to make impacts on their teams pretty quickly. We aren’t trying to discount the idea that prospects can always fail to live up to their expectations. However, given some of the names selected at 24th overall in past, the Cowboys do have a chance to make a game-changing decision here.

2021 Steelers – Najee Harris                    2010 Cowboys –  Dez Bryant

2019 Raiders – Josh Jacobs                        2008 Titans – Chris Johnson

2018 Panthers – D.J. Moore                       2005 Packers –  Aaron Rodgers

2012 Steelers – David DeCastro              2004 Rams – Steven Jackson

2011 Saints – Cameron Jordan                2002 Ravens –  Ed Reed

1969 Cowboys – Calvin Hill

The success rate of players taken in the first round has been pretty solid. You have multiple Pro-Bowlers, a league MVP, and many other players who went on to win rookie awards on the above list.

This trend should hopefully give the Cowboys pause when it comes to trying to trade up. Although Jerry Jones seems to be interested, sticking with No. 24 unless a player that they never expected to be available is there, may be the smarter choice. The front office should let the draft come to them. Odds are they will still be able to find a quality starter while saving their Day 2 and Day 3 draft picks to continue to fill roster needs and depth at positions.