| Christopher Reina. 5th November, 2007 - 5:21 pm
 The Colts won Super Bowl XLI largely behind a collection of first round picks made with impeccable precision by Bill Polian.
Marvin Harrison: 19th overall in 1996, Syracuse
Peyton Manning: 1st overall pick in 1998, Tennessee
Reggie Wayne: 30th overall in 2001, Miami
Dwight Freeney:11th overall in 2002, Syracuse
Dallas Clark: 24th overall in 2003, Iowa
Joseph Addai: 30th overall in 2006, LSU
The 1990’s Cowboys built their skilled positions in much the same way:
Michael Irvin: 11th overall in 1988, Miami
Troy Aikman: 1st overall in 1989, UCLA
Emmitt Smith: 17th overall in 1990, Florida
Alvin Harper: 12th overall in 1991, Tennessee
But the Cowboys haven’t drafted a single offensive player in the first round since 1997 when they selected David LaFleur, a tight end out of LSU.
Yet they still have the NFC's best offense.
With such an emphasis on defense, Dallas has built their skilled positions through a series of free agent signings of players other teams didn’t want and made stars out of picks outside the first 32.
- Tony Romo: Undrafted in 2003, Eastern Illinois -
Romo replaced an almost retired Drew Bledsoe (1st overall pick in 1993) on October 23rd, 2006 during the middle of their 36-22 loss on Monday Night Football to the New York Giants.
Romo is a member of the Cowboys largely because of the Sean Payton connection (also a legendary Eastern Illinois quarterback). Mike Shanahan, another famous Eastern Illinois quarterback, was also interested in signing Romo after he went undrafted in 2003. The Broncos had 10 picks in the 2003 draft.
Other quarterbacks drafted in 2003
Carson Palmer (1st overall)
Byron Leftwich (7th overall)
Kyle Boller (19th overall)
Rex Grossman (22nd overall)
Dave Ragone (88th overall)
Chris Simms (97th overall)
Seneca Wallace (110th overall)
Brian St. Pierre (163rd overall)
Drew Henson (192nd overall)
Brooks Bollinger (200th overall)
Kliff Kingsbury (201st overall)
Gibran Hamdan (232nd overall)
Ken Dorsey (241st overall)
Romo stayed on the Cowboys’ QB carousel long enough to see Drew Henson, Quincy Carter and Vinny Testaverde come and go in varying degrees of fashion.
When Romo signed his $67.5 million contract extension last week, Jerry Jones commented on the improbability of his ascent.
"In many ways, it's about an individual that just wouldn't take no for an answer," said Jones.
This season, Romo’s patience reading defenses in the pocket has finally caught up with his gunslinger improvisation outside of the pocket and his athletic ability.
Right now, he is just outside of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady as the NFL's top quarterback and is likely to eventually join Kurt Warner as an undrafted quarterback to take his team to a Super Bowl.
- Terrell Owens: Pick 89 in 1996 (Round 3), Tennessee-Chattanooga -
Owens’ 661 receiving yards as a senior at a small school dropped him into the 3rd round before the 49ers selected him to join an aging Steve Young and Jerry Rice.
This really was the last time Owens wasn’t wanted because of his on-field play.
The Cowboys were able to sign Owens to a three-year, $25 million contract in March 2006 after the Eagles officially cut ties with him due to contract disputes and strained relations with Donovan McNabb, Andy Reid and others.
He will turn 34 this December, but has remained healthy and incident-free ever since his hydrocodone overdose last year, which has also coincided with the arrival of Romo as the starter.
By sending him on more crossing patterns, Jason Garrett is utilizing him as well as any offensive coordinator Owens has worked with in the past.
- Marion Barber III: Pick 109 in 2005 (Round 4), Minnesota -
Barber came out of school as a junior following a season in which he rushed for 1,269 yards, but was losing carries to then-sophomore Laurence Maroney.
Three of the top five picks that year were running backs (Ronnie Brown, Cedric Benson and Carnell Williams). Frank Gore was a round three steal by the 49ers, while the Broncos used the final pick of the 3rd round on Maurice Clarett.
He is having his finest season in 2007, rushing for 5.4 yards per carry and 7 total touchdowns. Last year, he rushed for 14 touchdowns and is one of the most bruising backs in the NFL.
Barber, nicknamed 'Marion the Barbarian' by Owens, will be a restricted free agent and it is clear that he is the running back the Cowboys will stick with longterm.
- Patrick Crayton: Pick 216 in 2004 (Round 7) Northwestern Oklahoma State -
Crayton was a quarterback in college, but the Cowboys saw potential for him in other areas of the game.
With Terry Glenn injured in 2007, Crayton has slid into the role as the Cowboys’ #2 receiver. He has already caught 26 balls for 400 yards and 4 touchdowns, well on pace to be his best year to date.
- Jason Witten: Pick 69 in 2003 (Round 3), Tennessee -
Witten was selected in the third round behind other tight ends such as Dallas Clark, Bennie Joppru, L.J. Smith and Teyo Johnson.
Witten is on his way to his fourth Pro Bowl season in five seasons and is on pace for 1200 yards and 10 touchdowns.
- Julius Jones: Pick 43 in 2004 (Round 2), Notre Dame -
Relatively speaking, Jones is the highly touted prospect of the Cowboys’ offense, but Steven Jackson, Chris Perry, Kevin Jones and Tatum Bell were all selected ahead of him in the 2004 draft.
He is also the member of this team who is least likely to remain in Dallas. Barber is the preferred option, though Wade Phillips likes the tandem running back flexibility. |
