The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference East Division. The Cowboys joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1960 and have played their home games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, since 2009. [3] [4]
The NFL draft, officially known as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting", [5] [6] [7] is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. [8] The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings; the teams with the worst win–loss records receive the earliest picks. Teams that qualified for the NFL playoffs select after non-qualifiers, and their order depends on how far they advanced, using their regular season record as a tie-breaker. The final two selections in the first round are reserved for the Super Bowl runner-up and champion. Draft picks are tradable and players or other picks can be acquired with them. [9]
Since the team's first draft, the Cowboys have selected 59 players in the first round. [10] The team's first pick in their inaugural NFL draft was Bob Lilly, a defensive tackle from Texas Christian University; he was the 13th overall selection. [3] [11] The Cowboys have drafted first overall three times, selecting Ed "Too Tall" Jones in 1974, Troy Aikman in 1989, and Russell Maryland in 1991. [10] In the most recent draft, held in 2023, the Cowboys chose Michigan defensive tackle Mazi Smith. [12]
The Cowboys did not draft a player in the first round on eleven occasions. [10] Seven of the team's first-round picks—Troy Aikman, Tony Dorsett, Michael Irvin, Bob Lilly, Emmitt Smith, DeMarcus Ware, and Randy White—have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. [13] One of the team's first-round picks—Scott Appleton—chose to sign with the NFL's pre-merger direct competitor, the American Football League (AFL), instead. [14] [15]
Symbol | Meaning |
---|---|
† | Indicates the player was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame |
* | Selected number one overall |
‡ | Selected number one overall and inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame |
Position abbreviations | |
---|---|
C | Center |
CB | Cornerback |
DB | Defensive back |
DE | Defensive end |
DT | Defensive tackle |
G | Guard |
LB | Linebacker |
QB | Quarterback |
RB | Running back |
S | Safety |
T | Tackle |
TE | Tight end |
WR | Wide receiver |
The 2001 NFL draft was the 66th draft annual of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on April 21–22, 2001.
The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by NFL Network. Having signed a contract with the Houston Texans on the evening before the draft, Mario Williams, a defensive end from North Carolina State, became the draft's first pick. The selection surprised many commentators, who predicted that the Texans would draft Southern California running back Reggie Bush or Texas quarterback Vince Young. Ohio State produced the most first round selections (five), while Southern California produced the most overall selections (eleven). Twenty-seven compensatory and supplemental compensatory selections were distributed amongst seventeen teams; Tampa Bay, Baltimore, and Tennessee each held three compensatory picks. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season.
The 1974 NFL draft took place at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York, on January 29–30, 1974. Each of the 26 NFL teams were granted 17 selections for a total of 442 picks.
The 2004 season was the Dallas Cowboys' 45th in the National Football League (NFL), their 16th under the ownership of Jerry Jones, their 33rd playing their home games at Texas Stadium, and their second season under head coach Bill Parcells. The team failed to improve on their 10-6 record in 2003 and finished at 6–10, failing to make the playoffs for the fourth time since 1999.
The 2001 Dallas Cowboys season was the team's 42nd in the National Football League (NFL). The Cowboys matched their record from the season before, going 5–11 and missing the playoffs, finishing last in the NFC East. For the first time since 1988, Troy Aikman was not on the Cowboys roster as quarterback, as the three-time Super Bowl champion retired, after playing for the team from 1989 to 2000. For the first time, Pat Summerall and John Madden did not call any Cowboys games for Fox all year.
The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on May 8 through May 10, 2014. The draft started on May 8, 2014, at 8 pm EDT. The draft was moved from its traditional time frame in late April due to a scheduling conflict at Radio City Music Hall.
Daniel Ray Spradlin is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and St. Louis Cardinals. He was selected by the Cowboys in the fifth round of the 1981 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Tennessee.
The 2024 NFL draft will be the 89th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held around Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit, Michigan, on April 25–27, 2024. The Chicago Bears hold the first pick in the draft, due to a previous trade with the Carolina Panthers, who had the worst record in the season before.