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Get Dallas Cowboys news on your cell'75 Cowboys draft among best ever?
3:24 PM Wed, Apr 25, 2007 | Permalink
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I ranked the 1975 draft as the third best in Cowboys' history. ESPN.com ranks the crop of Randy White and Co. as one of the top four in league history. The other three on ESPN's list: '74 Steelers, '83 Bears and '86 Steelers. I'll e-mail one of the authors for an explanation of how the '64 Cowboys crop (Mel Renfro, Bob Hayes, Roger Staubach) could possibly not make the cut. |
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Comments
Posted by Chris @ 3:54 PM Wed, Apr 25, 2007
Nothing like a validation of my semi-genius.
Posted by Gary T @ 4:10 PM Wed, Apr 25, 2007
64 was good but those 3 were all that made the team. The 1975 draft produced 5 pro Bowl Players. Randy Hughes was huge in SB XII and probably would have ben a Pro Bowler had he not played behind Waters and Harris. Laidlaw was a very productive back who replaced Robert Newhouse for the stretch run of the 1978 Super Bowl season. Mike Hegman was solid for 10 years.
Posted by Timbo @ 5:00 PM Wed, Apr 25, 2007
The fact that ANY draft that included Bob Hayes, let alone Roger and Mel, is not in the Top 10 list reinforces my opinion of Hayes being the most under-rated receiver of all time, if not player. Name one other offensive player who permanently changed the entire defensive scheme of the rest of the NFL like Hayes did? He wasn't simply a fast receiver - he was a gifted receiver with incredibly fast feet. There was not before nor has there been since any receiver of his calliber (pun intended on Bullet Bob Hayes). With Hayes and Staubach and Renfro, who needs more "hits" to make it one of the greatest NFL drafts ever?
Timbo
Posted by Timothy @ 5:44 PM Wed, Apr 25, 2007
The 1975 team is my favorite Dallas team of all-time. The "Dirty Dozen" injected life into the Cowboys and Roger Staubach carried that team to the brink of a Super Bowl championship.
Another thing I remember about that draft class was how good a player and athlete Thomas Henderson was. For those who don't remember him as a player, picture DeMarcus Ware.
Here's to a great draft this weekend!
Posted by Cary @ 6:44 PM Wed, Apr 25, 2007
How could ESPN leave off the 1986 San Francisco 49ers draft?
The 49ers had the 19th pick in the draft that year, and through six different draft day trades with seven different teams they netted them 14 picks that included...
DE Larry Roberts
FB Tom Rathman
CB Tim McKyer
DE Charles Haley
WR John Taylor
OT Steve Wallace
CB Don Griffin
DE Kevin Fagan
They didn't draft until the 39th pick in the draft.
I dare you to find a team that has ever gotten more out of a draft with so little to work with.
Posted by Chris @ 7:56 PM Wed, Apr 25, 2007
Its on there, its the 86' Niners not the 86' Steelers...but both the Boys and Steelers drafts were better.
Posted by Brian @ 8:27 PM Wed, Apr 25, 2007
On SI.com today they had the top 25 draft classes since the NFL/AFL merger in 1970. The Cowboys 1989 and 1991 draft classes made the list but I was stunned the 1975 Cowboys class did not make the list.
Posted by Hanker @ 10:16 PM Wed, Apr 25, 2007
I don't understand why jerseys should be "retired" just because someone was a great player. Isn't that the goal of a team when they draft a player,,,hoping he becomes great?
Posted by ernest t bass @ 11:11 PM Wed, Apr 25, 2007
Okay Hanker, since you're trolling so hard, I'll bite. Although your statement is painfully, obviously true, in the rare occurrences when teams do draft or acquire a player that revolutionizes his position by performance the retirement of the number serves as a tribute to the organization for being "smart", a tribute to the player for his exemplary contributions and a tribute to the fans for marketing purposes. Somebody smarter than me can provide insight on the politics that keeps Randy Whites' #54 Cowboys jersey in circulation.
Posted by Hanker @ 12:18 AM Thu, Apr 26, 2007
Yeah, I'm trolling ernie, because it's such a moronic thought to retire someone's number. I don't need your novel size posts to convince me otherwise. A tribute?. Thats what the Hall of Fame is for. What's next? Retiring their name?
Posted by S L @ 9:25 AM Thu, Apr 26, 2007
I understood the problem with 54 is the ridiculous made-for-tv mandates from the NFL regarding positions having a set series of jersey numbers. Randy White was drafted as LB, so he was 54, but then moved to DT, so got to keep his old number (otherwise he'd have worn 70-or 90- something). Tex Schramm and later JJ both always said there simply weren't enough numbers available for LBs to leave one out of circulation, when special teamers are included, but they often tried. Maybe it's a bunch of feel-good hooey, but it seems to make sense. Look at the range of numbers available for QBs, when you would need only 3 at most. But it doesn't explain why they reused 22. Thank goodness the next 22 was so special! The Cowboys do not officially retire any jersey numbers, by the way, for the same reason (not enough numbers to go around). That was part of their initial reasoning behind the Ring of Honor.
Posted by Maury @ 9:34 AM Thu, Apr 26, 2007
One interesting point about the Steelers 74 draft. It was judged "best" based on HOF members drafted (4). I will always contented that if the interference call on Benny Barnes is not made in SB XIII that the HOF balance between the 70's Cowboys and Steelers would be more equal, subsequently changing the assessment of the drafts from that decade.
Posted by ernest t bass @ 12:11 PM Thu, Apr 26, 2007
Thanks S L for a good explanation. The following was stolen from wikipedia: Unlike many NFL teams, the Cowboys do not retire jersey numbers ... as a matter of policy. However, some numbers of retired players, such as Roger Staubach #12 and Bob Lilly #74, are unofficially kept "inactive" to prevent them from being worn by current or future players. Troy Aikman #8, and Emmitt Smith #22, are other examples of this unofficial "rule." It is uncommon to find any current players wearing the number of one of the "Ring of Honor" inductees.