Why I've come to peace with the Cowboys' draft

There are many ways to build a team.

There are also many ways to evaluate those who do so.

It is odd that I find myself in this position, because during the draft I never thought I’d be the one tapping the brakes, tempering the panic, assuring the rest of Cowboys fandom that Jerry and Co. had not lost their collective minds. As I look back at the events that transpired, however, I’m coming to the belief that the front office did what they could and made the best of their situation despite the dice adamantly refusing to roll in their favor.

Example A: Trading out of 51. The bounty received from Buffalo for surrendering this pick was pretty meager. The team cannot be faulted for the decision, however; they obviously believed that no player left for the taking was worthy of that selection. There’s a reason everyone was under the impression they had passed; Jerry was likely pounding every phone within reach trying to get the best offer possible. Why? Because Seattle chose to trade up and steal the last player the Cowboys were really coveting at that spot. To me, this doesn’t lend to the theory of incompetence, but to simple, unavoidable bad luck.

Example B: The Jason Williams pick. It was emblematic of the Cowboys’ draft, as most experts seem to think Dallas reached on the majority of their picks.

You know what? I have no problem with that. I respect Scott Wright, Walter Sobchak, Mike Mayock, Mike Lombardi, and even to an extent Mel Kiper. They devote hundreds of hours to intensive study of these players. A team’s scouting staff, however, it composed of several people who do the same thing for a living. They don’t publicize their views in videos, blogs, or radio appearances, but they are professional player evaluators just like the aforementioned pundits. If the Cowboys felt Jason Williams was a better pick than Rashad Johnson, or didn’t think highly enough of Jarron Gilbert to trade up a few spots, I’m perfectly content with that. You have to trust your scouting department, and Jerry’s certainly got the resources to assemble a good one. So, Robert Brewster wasn’t as flashy a prospect as Jamon Meredith. I don’t care. The Cowboys seemed to like his versatility, his pass-blocking acumen, hell, maybe they fell in love with his glasses. Whatever it was that swayed their judgment toward a certain player, we can’t fault it just because we hadn’t read up on that particular player.

Example C: David Buehler. I’ve seen the team lambasted on many different sites for choosing to draft a kicker while Nick Folk, he of the pinpoint leg, solidly occupies a roster spot. This is a flawed argument for a reason most pundits aren’t aware of; the simple fact that there is too much minutiae to keep track of. I can’t honestly expect Todd McShay to know tat Folk didn’t register a single touchback last year; the number of people outside of the Metroplex/Fanbase Venn diagram who are aware of that stat can likely be counted upon two hands. Buehler adds a new element to the Cowboys roster and will likely bring about a massive shift in hidden yardage. There’s not a doubt in my mind that he was a worthwhile selection and will constitute a very constructive roster spot. My point being this: These evaluations are usually cobbled together within a very short time span, consisting of a hurried assessment of player scouting reports correlated with a basic Team Needs chart. There was even one evaluator who stated that Victor Butler and Brandon Williams were brought in to offset the departure of Chris Canty. This particular pundit looked at Canty’s position (DE) and the positions Butler and Williams played in college (DE) and drew together a conclusion, failing to realize that a 3-4 DE is an entirely different position from a 4-3 DE.

Lastly, the bottom line is as such: It is folly to evaluate a draft this early in the process. The current Super Bowl champions, for instance, draft very unconventionally: The majority of their picks are raw athletes and good character guys who fit the scheme well but rarely contribute in anything more than a backup/ST role during their first year or two. These players are given time to ease in the system and when they are fully ready to contribute, a roster spot has opened up and they suddenly look like a bunch of geniuses. An evaluation of that same draft class one year earlier, however, would have come to the conclusion that the Steelers reached for a bunch of depth. The lack of prophetic vision prevents the pundits from seeing the Pittsburgh trophy case, now slightly heavier. 

I was initially very frustrated with our draft this year. I had a hard time finding good value picks, I didn’t see the team address areas of need (WR, NT), and was agitated by the lack of a primo pick. The more I look at it, though, I find myself liking what transpired on April 25th and 26th of 2009.