Cowboys Draft History: Dallas' Best Pick Ever?

Who is the greatest NFL Draft pick in Dallas Cowboys history? Well, it depends on what criteria you use.

Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame ranked "the best player ever drafted by a team" and gave this question a stab. The conclusion for the Cowboys? Hall of Famer Roger Staubach, a 10th round pick (129th overall) in the 1964 NFL Draft: 

"Staubach is a fascinating case. The Cowboys had one of the greatest classes in 1964, taking three Hall of Famers including Staubach, defensive back Mel Renfro and receiver Bob Hayes. However, because the former Heisman winner was committed to the Navy, he didn’t join Dallas until ’69, after he had served a mandatory four years on active duty.

"Once he did, Staubach made up for lost time. The Cowboys won two Super Bowls and reached three under his command, while missing the playoffs only once until his retirement following the 1979 season. Staubach was a Super Bowl MVP and six-time Pro Bowler while also making the ’70s All-Decade Team." 

Both in terms of leading the Cowboys to two Super Bowl titles and not getting drafted until the 10th round, it's hard to argue with the Staubach being the best selection in franchise history. 

Indeed, CowboysSI.com's Richie Whitt - who has covered the Cowboys as a beat writer and columnist for more than 30 years - also tabs Staubach in his "Top 10 All-Time Dallas Draft Picks'' piece here.

Now, to play devil's advocate, Randy White (No. 2 overall pick in 1975), Tony Dorsett (No. 2 overall pick in 1977), Michael Irvin (first-round pick in 1988), Troy Aikman (No. 1 overall pick in 1989), Emmitt Smith (first-round pick in 1990), Larry Allen (second-round pick in 1994) and DeMarcus Ware (first-round pick in 2016) are among the other Hall of Famers drafted and developed by the Cowboys that deserve to be mentioned in this conversation. 

In terms of value, Jason Witten (third-round pick in 2003), Dez Bryant (No. 24 overall pick in 2010), Sean Lee (second-round pick in 2010), DeMarco Murray (third-round pick in 2011) and Dak Prescott (fourth-round pick in 2016) stand out as recent examples of players drastically outperforming the spot they were drafted at. 

And who knows, if Micah Parsons continues on the Hall of Fame trajectory that he's started his career on, he may eventually force his way into this conversation. 

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