While the NFL is now considered a league win, you can’t build a successful team in one year. The bulk of any roster is made up of players in their first four years of age, with a group of seasoned and highly seasoned veterans to lead and make the plays. For a long time, Dallas Cowboys fans were deeply frustrated as the team struggled to put up good uprights on the field. One thing that pissed off many was his refusal to invest in free agents to help the team. Instead, the team focused almost entirely on NFL Draft and development, with some low-cost additions from abroad.
This is not a plan that produces immediate results. take time. It also requires some excellent player ratings. Not everyone is good at it. But looking back over the past few years, it certainly seems like Dallas has figured it out. If I go back five years, the crafting is going well. There are some misses, like Trysten Hill, but a lot of successes. CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons, and Tyler Smith are a very impressive three-year streak of first-round picks that the team hopes to continue with Mazi Smith. It’s worth noting that the fanbase’s initial reactions to both Parsons and Tyler Smith’s choices were underwhelming, yet it turns out that both yield instant starts. Parsons is simply one of the best defensemen in the league, and after his rookie season, Tyler Smith is seen as a staple of the offensive line for years to come.
However, you shouldn’t put too much weight on first-round picks. Most teams find a guard in the first round, although there have certainly been some real failures, like the Cowboys with Taco Charlton back in 2017. Not one good player every year will make the hit list. How the rest of the draft chooses is what determines the quality of the list.
By that standard, Dallas has been doing great lately. Last year they added Sam Williams and Jake Ferguson, both of whom are expected to play important roles. But the highlight of that year’s draft class was the fifth round, where the Cowboys used two options to add DaRon Bland and Damone Clark. Due to injuries, Bland would start eight games and Clark five. All Bland did with his chance was lead the team in interceptions as opponents made the mistake of trying to catch him. That’s impressive, but Clark is more than that. He underwent surgery after the combine, due to a problem discovered in the combine by the Dallas medical staff. Most thought he would never see the field last season, but he has struggled his way back and is now expected to start this year, as is Bland. That’s a return on investment that doesn’t often happen with fifth-round picks.
2021 hasn’t yielded a plethora of rookies outside of Parsons and Osa Odegezwa, but it’s worth noting that all of the eleven players selected in that rich year are still with the team. Most of them are deep players, but this is crucial. Players like Simi Fehoko, Israel Mukuamu, and Matt Farniok may be one game away from having to enter a starting role. 2020 was a regular-size time trial class with seven picks, but in addition to Lamb, it has yielded starters like Trevon Diggs and Tyler Biadasz. Neville Galllimore has started nine games as a starter, but injuries and a shift to a bigger 1 Tech on defense have limited his contributions in the past two years.
While the compromising approach in the free agency basement has been the source of much annoyance, it’s worth noting that the team has recently found a couple of gems in Jayron Kearse and Malik Hooker. Moreover, employees have begun exploiting low-cost deals to serve the same purpose. They got Jonathan Hankins over last season, and his impact was visible and immediate. This year, they’ve acquired both Stephon Gilmore and Brandin Cooks, both of whom are expected to step into the starting roles.
Considering how bad things have been for over a decade after the glory years of the ’90s, something has changed. This change is one of Will Maclay’s, currently Vice President of Player Affairs. He started as a scout in 2003, focused on professionals who could be added, and worked his way up. He took over his current duties in 2017, which is when things really started looking up for the talent acquisition. Since Hill’s mistake, his voice seems to have gotten stronger every year. The results are shown above.
Maclay deserves a great deal of credit. Many wonder why he isn’t GM elsewhere, but he seems very happy in his current role, perhaps at least in part because of the way he’s being compensated. There is no salary cap for employees, and while his actual salary is not made public, it is certainly well rewarded.
But there is another part to this equation. That’s Jerry Jones, who holds the title of general manager while his son Stephen handles a lot of the day-to-day jobs, including roof and contract management. A little personal history is relevant here. When I was first offered a staff writer position at Blogging the Boys, I wrote a few things in Jerry’s defense. There was a perception in the early 2000s that he was an authoritarian leader, with his ego driving much of the decisions. But in 2010, I discovered something else. That was when Jason Jarrett became the full-time head coach, and to me, it was clear that Jerry was more collaborative in his management of the team, sharing power with Garrett and Stephen, and bluntly deferring to them on many decisions. This is perhaps even more true now, with Maclay the third stop for Jerry’s main advisors alongside Stephen and Mike McCarthy. Maclay finds talent, McCarthy and his coaches recruit them on the field, and Stephen determines who and how much to pay.
While the photo for this article calls Maclay the secret sauce, it really indicates how listening shows Jerry. Because he does, along with all of his key employees. You might be able to add Dan Quinn to that, whom McCarthy has entrusted entirely to running the defense.
Just as I started, I was very encouraged by the way cowboys are already being run. It takes several years to build a list, with the four year window being the main time frame. We hope it will bear fruit this year. There are always many ways things can derail, but a good start and reliable depth are always key. While it’s still on paper as we count down the days of training camp, this looks like the best roster Dallas has enjoyed in a long time.
This is the work of Maclay and the rest of the administration, and they deserve the highest praise.