Were The Dallas Cowboys Much Better off in The Draft With Bill Parcells?

Were the Dallas Cowboys significantly better during the draft with Bill Parcells?

The media, the fans, the football "experts", all sign off on Bill Parcells every football move.  Some, including me, believe he has earned it.

But if you look at the last seven years the Dallas Cowboys have drafted - first four with Parcells and the last three without - one might realize that the draft is mostly a huge crap-shoot, and the real genius of Bill Parcells is the system in which his players play in.

The Four Dallas Cowboys Drafts with Parcells (Taken from SI.com)

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	School
1	5(5)	Terence Newman	CB	Kansas St.
2	6(38)	Al Johnson	C	Wisconsin
3	5(69)	Jason Witten	TE	Tennessee
4	6(103)	Bradie James	OLB	LSU
6	5(178)	B.J. Tucker	CB	Wisconsin
6	13(186)	Zuriel Smith	WR	Hampton
7	5(219)	Justin Bates	OT	Colorado

2003 was Bill Parcells' second best as the Cowboys coach.  Newman, Witten and James have all been major contributors and are still core players today. Al Johnson was a starter for the Cowboys in 2004 and 2005, but never lived up to expectations. The rest of the picks never made any impact.

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	School
2	11(43)	Julius Jones	RB	Notre Dame
2	20(52)	Jacob Rogers	OT	Southern Cal
3	20(83)	Stephen Peterman	OG	LSU
4	25(121)	Bruce Thornton	CB	Georgia
5	12(144)	Sean Ryan	TE	Boston Coll.
7	4(205)	Nathan Jones	CB	Rutgers
7	15(216)	Patrick Crayton	WR	NW Oklahoma St.
7	22(223)	Jacques Reeves	CB	Purdue

Crayton is the only consistent, solid player from the 2004 draft.  As the Cowboys 2nd or 3rd wide receiver for the last few years, he is most notable for a dropped pass in the 2007 playoff game against the Giants, and his mouth that doesn't know when to keep quiet.

Julius Jones was the starting running back until he left, but that was by default.  He averaged less than four yards a carry and always seemed to "trip" over the line of scrimmage.   I even gave him a nickname, "2nd and 11".  It should be noted that Parcells had the opportunity to take Steven Jackson, but instead traded out of the first round for Jones (The Cowboys used the 2005 pick to select Marcus Spears).

Reeves was a contributor but only because of injury.  He was a huge disappointment when given starting duties in 2007, regularly getting beaten deep.  He was subsequently released after that 2007 season.

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	School
1	11(11)	Demarcus Ware	OLB	Troy
1	20(20)	Marcus Spears	DE	LSU
2	10(42)	Kevin Burnett	OLB	Tennessee
4	8(109)	Marion Barber	HB	Minnesota
4	31(132)	Chris Canty	DE	Virginia
6	34(208)	Justin Berlault	S	Ball St.
6	35(209)	Rob Petitti	OT	Pittsburgh
7	10(224)	Jay Ratliff	DE	Auburn

2005 was the best draft in Bill Parcell's Cowboys tenure.

Demarcus Ware is arguably the best defensive player in the NFL, and definitely Bill Parcell's best pick as the Cowboys head coach.

Barber and Ratliff are core players to today's team and are both Pro Bowlers.

Spears, Burnett, and Canty were good role players, with only Spears remaining with the team.

Petititti started all 16 games in his rookie season, but was regularly beaten each Sunday.   He was released at the beginning of the 2006 season.

Round	Pick	Player	Pos	School
1	18(18)	Bobby Carpenter	OLB	Ohio State
2	21(53)	Anthony Fasano	TE	Notre Dame
3	28(92)	Jason Hatcher	DE	Grambling State
4	28(125)	Skyler Green	WR	Louisiana State
5	5(138)	Pat Watkins	S	Florida State
6	13(182)	Montavious Stanley	DT	Louisville
7	3(211)	Paul McQuistan	T	Weber State
7	16(224)	E.J. Whitley	T	Texas Tech

Easily the worst draft of his time with the Cowboys, none of these players are major contributors.  

Carpenter has been a huge bust, although every year when mini-camps start, he is "poised for a break out year".

Fason was a decent tight end, but he followed Parcells to the Dolphins.

Watkins and McQuistan have been less than spectacular in their backup roles.

If you look at Parcells' four drafts, the two that turned out well were made following a 5-11 and 6-10 season, where high draft picks made it a little easier to make good picks.

The Three Dallas Cowboys Drafts Post-Parcells (Taken from SI.com)

Round	Pick (Overall)	Player	Position	School
1	26 (26)	Anthony Spencer	DE	Purdue University
3	3 (67)	James Marten	T	Boston College
4	4 (103)	Isaiah Stanback	QB	Washington
4	23 (122)	Doug Free	T	Northern Illinois
6	4 (178)	Nicholas Folk	PK	Arizona
6	21 (195)	Deon Anderson	FB	Connecticut
7	2 (212)	Courtney Brown	CB	Cal Poly
7	27 (237)	Alan Ball	CB	Illinois

Spencer has had his shares of ups and downs, but is poised to start opposite Ware in 2009 after nagging injuries in 2008.  Spencer will be replacing the soon-to-be traded Greg Ellis.

Folk has been one of the league's top kickers since entering the league. 

The project of Stanback has about run its course, but he has shown flashes in the return game.

The rest were insignificant.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School
1	22 (22)	Felix Jones	RB	Arkansas
1	25 (25)	Mike Jenkins	CB	South Florida
2	30 (61)	Martellus Bennett	TE	Texas A&M
4	23 (122)	Tashard Choice	RB	Georgia Tech
5	8 (143)	Orlando Scandrick	CB	Boise State
6	1 (167)	Erik Walden	OLB	Middle Tennessee

By far the best draft since Parcells departure, the first five picks have all made significant contributions.

Jones averaged 8.9 yards a carry before he was injured, and was only limited by the asinine play-calling by Jason Garrett.  The Cowboys are looking at making him the starter in 2009, and giving Barber back the closer role in which he thrived in.

Jenkins is projected as the starting cornerback after a solid rookie season.  He made mistakes in 2008, but that was to be expected.

Bennett has been a terrific extra weapon for Romo, taking some of the pressure off of Witten by giving defenses another big body that they must defend between the hashes.

Choice showed he could be counted on as a starter in his first NFL game against the league's number one defense, the Pittsburgh Steelers.  He gives Dallas solid depth at running back, and could play a significant role at the end of games as a change of pace back.

Scandrick was an incredible pick in the 5th round, as he has shown potential to be a starting cornerback.   He is current the Cowboys starting nickle cornerback, and will push for playing time against first rounder Jenkins.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School
3	5 (69)	Jason Williams	OLB	Western Illinois
3	11 (75)	Robert Brewster	G	Ball State
4	1 (101)	Stephen McGee	QB	Texas A&M
4	10 (110)	Victor Butler	OLB	Oregon State
4	20 (120)	Brandon Williams	DE	Texas Tech
5	7 (143)	DeAngelo Smith	CB	Cincinnati
5	30 (166)	Michael Hamlin	S	Clemson
5	36 (172)*	David Buehler	PK	USC
6	24 (197)	Stephen Hodge	S	TCU
6	35 (208)*	John Phillips	TE	Virginia
7	18 (227)	Mike Mickens	CB	Cincinnati
7	20 (229)	Manuel Johnson	WR	Oklahoma

The 2009 class is yet-to-be determined.  I, like everyone else (even if they think they know), have no idea how they are going to turn out. 

DallasNews.com blogger Tim McMahon seems to think 11 out of the 12 will make the team. 

That would be incredible considering the positions in which they were drafting.  However I'm not sure how much that says about the current state of the team, or Jerry Jones and company's drafting ability.  

When the Cowboys had 2 first rounders in 2008, they made good on their picks, just like Parcells.

I am not validating Jones as a general manager.  He is the second least qualified general manager in the NFL after the Oakland Raiders Al Davis.  The Cowboys deserve a legitimate general manager.

I also remember how horrible the drafts prior to Parcells (and after Jimmy Johnson) were.  This doesn't mean Jones and his current staff didn't learn a thing or two from Parcells while he was here.

But the recent success in the draft may mean Jones' subordinates, the one's who stayed or were brought in after Parcells' left, are more than qualified to make the team better each Spring during the draft. 

The real void in Parcells' departure is on the sideline.