Cowboys Draft 2023: The Dallas Cowboys have had a lot of success in the seventh round of the NFL Draft in the past. They haven’t added a real gem, a diamond in the rough, using one of these picks in the previous 20 years. Could they snap their streak in 2023?
Over the previous six decades, the Cowboys have had more success in the seventh round than in the first four. It gave birth to two renowned players, WR “Bullet” Bob Hayes (1964) and OT Rayfield Wright (1967), both of whom are inducted into the Hall of Fame and the Ring of Honor.
Dallas also produced notable players like LB Mike Hegman (1975), DT Leon Lett (1991), S Brock Marion (1993), and DT Jay Ratliff (2005).
Those early rounds did, however, produce Dak Prescott, Herschel Walker, George Andrie, D.D. Lewis, and a plethora of other outstanding players. But none of them have surpassed Hayes or Wright in franchise history, much alone the NFL.
Jay Ratliff didn’t accomplish enough to reach the Ring or Canton, but he came the closest of any seventh-round pick.
His astonishing rise to four-time Pro Bowler from 2008 to 2011 and First-Team All-Pro in 2009 was more than any late-round choice could have hoped for.
Unfortunately, Dallas hasn’t struck gold in the seventh round in a long time. Here’s what they’ve discovered since Ratliff arrived in 2005:
- 2006 – OT C. Pat McQuistan DB E.J. Whitley 2007 DB Alan Ball Courtney Brown is an actress.
- 2009 – DB WRE’s Mike Mickens Mr. Manuel Johnson
- 2010 – DL Lissemore, Sean
- 2011 – FB C. Shaun Chapas Mr. Bill Nagy
- 2012 – LB Caleb McSurdy – DE 2014 LB Ben Gardner S. Will Smith Mr. Ahmad Dixon
- DT DB Ken Bishop Terrance Mitchell is an actor.
- 2015 – LB OT Mark Nzeocha TE Laurence Gibson DT Geoff Swaim 2017 WR Joey Ivie DT Noah Brown Jordan Carrell is an actor.
- 2018 – RB RB Bo Scarbrough 2019 DE Mike Weber Jalen Jelks’s
- 2020 – QB G/C Ben DiNucci 2021 Farniok, Matt
Nobody would blame you if you found yourself uttering “who” a lot while reading that list. Only a handful of the 26 players, including Alan Ball, Noah Brown, and Geoff Swaim, left an impact. Many of these players were not even on the squad as rookies.
Sean Lissemore and Terrance Mitchell, for example, would be valuable players for other NFL teams, but their time in Dallas was brief and unremarkable.
Dallas didn’t get a single hit in 2014, despite having five players taken in the seventh round. That’s not a good day at the roulette table. We’ve also seen recent choices like Weber, Jelks, and DiNucci fail to make an impression.
At the very least, their most recent seventh-round pick is valuable. Matt Farniok is expected to be the main backup at both guard and center in 2023.
Who knows whether Farniok, who is just in his third season, would make a bid for even more responsibility? Depending on the outcome of the upcoming draft, Dallas may still need a starting left guard.
This is not meant to be a criticism of the Cowboys’ selection process. We could only offer you a few names of actual significance after sixty years. That’s a 10% probability of discovering a stud; not great odds.
Still, it’s been a while since the team drafted Jay Ratliff in 2005. Dallas is ready for another huge seventh-round triumph, and this year is as good as any. They currently have the 246th overall selection. This time, I’m hoping for better outcomes.
