Inside The Star
If it seems like nearly every decision made by the Dallas Cowboys’ front office this century has been wrong, that would be because that is precisely the case.
From draft picks to free agency moves and trades to coaching changes. When viewed in retrospect, they all have one thing in common.
Most of the time, the Cowboys made the wrong choice.
For every one pick Dallas got right, the next dozen or so were busts. The Cowboys made 23 picks in the three drafts combined between 2000-2002.
They only got two of them right in defensive back Roy Williams.
Center Aundre Gurode, picked in the second round of 2022 after Williams was taken first, gave Dallas several solid seasons.
The third round pick, Antonio Bryant, was gone by 2004 after 37 games. The rest of the 2022 class, and the entire classes of 2000 and 2001 were wasted picks.
For every DeMarcus Ware, Terence Newman, Jason Witten, Dez Bryant, Tyron Smith that followed over the years, we were treated to draft classes of 2006 and 2009 that were filled with busts from top to bottom.
Nor have the last three draft classes done much to buck this trend.
Only Luke Schoonamker and DeMarvion Overshown remain from the 2023 class. Schoonmaker may not make the 2026 roster.
Overshown can’t stay healthy and on the field.
Cooper Beebe is the cream of the 2024 crop.
Ryan Flournoy might become a stud in 2026. Tyler Guyton may need a change of position to avoid being the second-straight #1 pick to be a bust in Dallas.
Of the remaining six picks, one is dead, and the other five are benched or off the team.
The 2025 class is faring little better.
Tyler Booker will snap the streak of mistakes with the top pick. Donovan Ezieruaku looks solid.
Aside from the 5th pick, Shemar James, most of the rest may not make the team in 226 either.
The Cowboys continue to adhere to their bargain bin shopping approach to free agency. They are never players when it comes to the high-value free agents.
For every Javonte Williams they luck into, they get several Jack Sanborns and Eric Kendricks.
Not that their approach to signing their own players, especially before they near free agency, is any more effective.
Dallas has played games in negotiations that have led them to pay far more than they should have. See Prescott, Dak; Lamb, CeeDee, and Parsons, Micah for more recent examples.
Meanwhile, players they’ve let go are playing this weekend in the playoffs.
The Cowboys waited until one week before the season opener to kneecap their first-year defensive coordinator by trading away the best defensive player on the roster.
Not that they did Matt Eberflus any favors by bringing in a zone defense coach for a team filled with man-to-man defensive backs.
They traded for Logan Wilson at the deadline. Then they quickly discovered why Wilson...
