The guys over at BloggingTheBoys.com found some photos, like the one up top, that showed the Dallas Cowboys draft board from the 2013 NFL Draft and managed to reconstruct the entire thing through the leaked photos.
From the board you can see where they had players ranked, and that they had flagged some players as undraftable because of potential character issues or they didn’t fit their scheme.
1. Injury or character scratches: First rounders Jarvis Jones, Alec Ogletree and Matt Elam aren’t on Dallas board. Neither are RB Christine Michael, WRs Keenan Allen and Robert Woods, CBs Tyrann Matthieu and Therold Simon, or DE Sam Montgomery. Clearly, its still important that the players they draft are “RKGs.” Further, the team seems to be moving away form selecting talented yet injury-prone players. Several guys with injury histories – Marcus Lattimore, or the aforementioned Jones, for example – are nowhere to be found.
2. Bad scheme fits. You’ll notice that three big defensive tackles who received a lot of ink before the draft as possible fits at the one technique – Johnathan Hankins, John Jenkins and Montori Hughes – are not on the Cowboys board. Jesse WIlliams? Nope. As the guys who were on the board suggest, Kiffin and Co. wanted defensive tackles in the 300 pound range who offer quickness and penetration more so than the ability to stand up two rival O-linemen.
3. Wrong size, Charlie: Similarly, they tended to downgrade short receivers (Marquise Goodwin received a sixth round grade; Ace Sanders was nowhere to be found) and small corners (B.W. Webb appears to be a notable exception). It’s rare to find a safety on their board under six feet in height. On the other hand, all the linebackers on the board are quick, undersized guys; all the big Parcellsian run stuffers were on other teams’ boards.
There were plenty of players that they didn’t agree with other teams on. They ranked Raiders 1st rounder D.J. Hayden in the 2nd round, Bears 1st rounder Kyle Long in the 3rd round, Packers 1st rounder Datone Jones in the 3rd round and Falcons 1st rounder Desmond Trufant in the 3rd round. Not to mention they slotted E.J. Manuel in the 4th round, and the Bills took Manuel in the 1st.
According to the Cowboys draft board, their players they drafted ranked as follows:
Travis Frederick [2, 22]
Gavin Escobar [2, 25]
Terrance WIlliams [2, 23]
J. J. Wilcox [3, 50]
B. W. Webb [3, 47]
Joseph Randle [3, 67]
DeVonte Holloman [5, 147]
Jerry Jones said in an interview that the players they took in the first three rounds were in the “early 20s” on their Draft Board and he wasn’t lying.
Jerry says Travis Frederick, Gavin Escobar and Terrance Williams were all in "early 20s" on their draft board.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 27, 2013
Based on the Cowboys Draft Board, they loved their draft. It just goes to show how differently each organization views players in each draft.
