The Dallas Cowboys used to hit home runs in the NFL Draft. I remember when Jerry Jones first bought the team when names like Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Jay Novacek, Daryl Johnston and more broke out and became superstars. However, recently the Cowboys' draft picks have been less than inspiring.
The 2011 NFL Draft was a little less inspiring than usual. The Cowboys stayed away from high risk picks and drafted based on needs, taking the players they figured could help out right now. Here is a look at how those draft picks finished the 2011 season.
1 - Tyron Smith (OT)
Most of the criticism for the Dallas Cowboys' offensive woes (other than complaints about Jason Garrett's play calling) came from the offensive line play. At the start of the year, it was shaky and ended up with Tony Romo breaking his ribs. However, that was because there were three first-year starters on the line including first round draft pick Tyron Smith. Smith played the right side of the line and did a good enough job that Dallas is considering moving him to the left side in 2012 to cover Romo's blindside. Smith might be one of the more valuable picks of 2011.
2 - Bruce Carter (LB)
Bruce Carter was the riskiest pick of the 2011 NFL Draft for the Cowboys. Carter was a Butkus finalist for North Carolina but underwent surgery to repair his ACL at the end of his college career and was not ready to start the 2011 season. However, with Keith Brooking and Bradie James probably on their way out, Dallas needs him to succeed to give them a new starting linebacker in 2012. Carter joined the roster when Dallas waived Tashard Choice but never made an impact, finishing with eight tackles in ten games. Hopefully, with a healthy offseason, he will be able to compete for a starting job in 2012.
3 - DeMarco Murray (RB)
The most valuable long term draft pick for Dallas in 2011 was DeMarco Murray. Here are the running backs drafted ahead of Murray: Mark Ingram, Ryan Williams, Shane Vereen, Mikel LeShoure and Daniel Thomas. Out of all those running backs, no one impressed more than Murray. Williams and LeShoure both fell to injuries early, Thomas couldn't overtake Reggie Bush and both Ingram and Vereen were unimpressive. On the other hand, Murray broke the single-game rushing record for Dallas and finished with 1,078 all-purpose yards, despite only starting eight games.
4 - David Arkin (OG) did little in 2011 and is a long term project.
5 - Josh Thomas (DB) played ten games and recorded only one tackle and a fumble recovery in his rookie year.
6 - Dwayne Harris (WR)
Dwayne Harris impressed the Cowboys' fans early on with his kick returning skills but was released and placed on the practice squad after Week 6. He remained on the practice squad until Week 16, when he returned to the active lineup after Jon Kitna went on the IR. While Harris only contributed on special teams, and finished the season without a reception, he is someone Dallas will look at for the future.
7- Shaun Chapas (FB) is a blocking fullback and was only available for three games in 2011. Tony Fiammetta is the best player on the Cowboys' team at this position so Chapas' future is bleak.
7 - Bill Nagy (OL)
Bill Nagy opened the season as a starting guard but soon fell out of favor and Dallas brought in Montrae Holland to shore up the position. Nagy ended up on IR after a broken ankle in October and will have to work hard if he wants to regain his starting spot in 2012.
Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys' fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys' related news, good or bad
