There was a good article on the main page about what might have been. I believe trading up for Claiborne was absolutely the right move. After that, I think it is interesting to look at who we could have picked. That was where I thought we reached for players we could have had 2-3 rounds later.

Some may say that we should trust our scouts to find the best players. But these guys have no credibility when picking unknown players - like the 3rd round flyer on the Div IAA ILB who hadn't been invited to the combine. When our draft room gets cute, we reach for players who neither fit a need nor are the best player available. Two points to consider: 1. Since 1994, we have only taken 7 solid starters in rounds 3-7 of the draft. 2. Aside from Sean Lee, can you think of any backup who unseated a healthy starter? This happens every year on much more talented teams than the Cowboys.

Here is a list of major players we passed on by round.:
Round 3, Passed on:
Mike Martin, DT, Michigan
Mohamed Sanu, WR Rutgers
Sean Spence, LB Miami
Brandon Thompson, DT Clemson
Jayron Hosley, CB Va Tech.
Chris Givens, WR Wake
Ben Jones, C UGA
Bobby Massie, OT Miss.
Ta'amu Alameda, DT, Washington


Round 4, Passed on:
Keenan Robinson, OLB Texas
Orson Charles, TE UGA
Joe Looney, G Wake
Ronnell Lewis, OLB Oklahoma
Jared Crick, DT Nebraska
Brandon Boykin, CB UGA
Josh Chapman, DT Alabama
Zebrie Sanders OT Florida St.

Round 5, Passed on:
Terrell Manning, DE NC St.
Jonathan Massaquoi, DE Troy
George Iloka, FS Boise St.
Juron Criner, WR Arizona
Marvin Jones, WR Cal.
BJ Cunningham, WR Mich. St.

Round 6 Passed on:
Billy Winn, DT, Boise St. - 6th Rounder rated higher than teammate Crawford
Danny Trevathan, OLB, Kentucky - 6th Rounder graded higher than Kyle Wilber.
Marvin McNutt, WR, Iowa
Tom Crompton, T, S. Dakota
Tommy Streeter, WR, Miami
Brandon Washington, G, Miami
Audie Cole, ILB, NC State