I am going to provide you a list of thirty seven former and current NFL players. Some you might recognize as pretty good players, most you probably won't recognize at all. The oldest player on this list is Lester Sims and he came into the NFL in 1972. Malcolm Kelly is the youngest player entering the league in 2008.
Besides playing in the NFL what other significant event do all thirty seven of these players have in common?
Lester Sims, Steve Baumgartner, Matt Blair, Bob Barber, Chris Bahr, Pete Cronin, Guy Benjamin, Jim Haslett, Tim Foley, Ricky Jackson, Reggie McElroy, Johnny Hector, Sean Jones, Scott Bergold, Pepper Johnson, Don Smith, Dante Jones, Billy Joe Tolliver, Mike Fox, Doug Thomas, Chuck Smith, Todd Rucci, Allen Aldridge, Terrell Fletcher, Dedric Mathis, Greg Jones, Kailee Wong, Johnny Rutledge, Cosey Coleman, Paul Toviessi, Clinton Portis, Terry Pierce, Dwan Edwards, Nick Collins, Ryan Cook, Steve Smith, Malcolm Kelly
The one thing these players all share is that they were selected as the 51st overall pick of the draft. This list includes every 51st choice in order from 1972 until last year's draft. As you know, the Cowboy's first selection in this draft is at 51 and I was curious to see what that selection yielded in past years. I have talked to some who feel this is a pretty good crop of players for the middle of the second round. There are some standouts and some with serviceable careers but overall I am not encouraged by what I see. If I were assured of getting a Clinton Portis or Pepper Johnson or Steve Smith or Guy Benjamin I would go for it. However, if this group as a whole is representative of what you can get at 51 - I would like to try to trade up.
I understand that the Cowboys might trade up or down. I understand that the Cowboys scouts might be better or worse than other team's talent evaluators and I accept that this list is but one snapshot of a process that has a thousand variables. What about you? Would you stand pat?
At the very least, when you watch the draft with your friends, you will seem brilliant when you explain what Cosey Coleman has in common with Jim Haslett.