Dallas Cowboys: Another Horrible NFL Draft Will Close the Window of Opportunity

The window to win a championship in the National Football league is rarely a large one. And if the Cowboys don’t draft accordingly this year, that window will slam shut on them.

If you look up north to the Green Bay Packers, a large sum of their stars are draft picks from years past. Names like Bryan Bulaga, James Starks, B.J. Raji and a host of other key players propelled them to the Lombardi trophy, while “America’s Team” watched the Packers celebrate the win in Cowboys Stadium.

Following the 2008 season, the Cowboys were in prime position to open that very same window, but a horrid 2009 draft failed to help the team.

In 2009, the Cowboys had 12 total draft picks that they used on seven defensive players, four offensive players and a kicker.

Only seven of those players remain on the roster today.

Linebacker Jason Williams, defensive back DeAngelo Smith, defensive back Mike Hamlin, linebacker Stephen Hodge and cornerback Mike Mickens are either on other NFL teams or out of the league entirely. That means almost half of the players the Cowboys drafted that year didn’t work out for them.

That’s like you going to Dunkin’ Donuts, buying a dozen donuts, but five of them were disgusting.  I’m sure you’d want your money back after that.

The Cowboys suffered from the misses in the 2009 draft greatly this year. Starting the 2010 season with only three cornerbacks on the roster, Dallas struggled with their defensive coverage, especially when a corner went down and there wasn’t a veteran back to replace them.

Linebackers Jason Williams and Stephen Hodge were suppose to add linebacker depth and help on special teams, but both were released this past season after disappointing stints on the Cowboys roster.

The ’09 draft wasn’t a total loss though. Place kicker David Buehler, tight end John Phillips and quarterback Stephen McGee all still have promising futures in the NFL.

As we inch closer to the 2011 draft, the Dallas roster looks just like it did before the ’09 draft. They’re coming off of a disappointing season, they’re on the cusp of becoming something special and they have huge holes on defense.

If the ‘Boys draft this year like they did in ’09, get ready for the other NFC East fans to stomp on our graves again in 2011 and 2012 just like they did this year.