They say that hindsight is 20/20, and that's a particularly true thing when it comes to talent evaluation in the annual NFL Draft. Every year fans chirp up with “We should have taken Player X!” or “We could have had Player Y!” because the knowledge gained from who those players became has influenced them. It's easy to look back and be right, and in the case of the Dallas Cowboys it's more fun because they actually were right.
In a recent 2015 NFL Draft do-over by NFL Media's Lance Zierlein, Lance took a crack at how things might go now that we know exactly who and what the 2015 class is with two years of NFL experience under their belt. Unsurprisingly Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota both went #1 and #2, respectively, again because the price of a franchise quarterback is one that any team will always pay.
Where Would Everyone Else Go In A Do-Over?
so much so that 2015 #1 Overall Pick Jameis Winston found out in person. (Photo by Andrew Dieb/Icon Sportswire)
A few other picks remain the same according to Lance. Oakland still takes Amari Cooper and the New York Jets again take Leonard Williams out of USC. Zierlein has the Washington Redskins taking safety Landon Collins at #5, who wound up with the New York Giants and had an incredibly impressive 2016 season. If Collins wouldn't have been on the board the Giants would have had to adjust with the 9th Overall Pick, and Lance has them doing so with the selection of running back David Johnson… imagine that.
What's incredibly interesting on behalf of the Dallas Cowboys, who didn't pick until #27 in 2015, is the player that Lance Zierlein now has slated to 12th Overall – Cowboys DE David Irving. According to Lance the Cleveland Browns, who originally selected Washington DT Danny Shelton in that slot, would wise up and take the talented defensive lineman that Irving has become.
David Irving Was A Steal For The Cowboys
David Irving, who recently signed his Exclusive Rights Free Agent tender, wasn't drafted at any particular slot in 2015 as he went totally and completely undrafted. The Cowboys wound up with him early in that season when they poached him off of the practice squad of the Kansas City Chiefs. Irving was impressive in that initial season, but it was in 2016 when fans saw the force he truly can be all over the defensive line.
Many applauded the Cowboys' efforts during the 2015 Draft as they wound up with essentially three first round draft picks: S Byron Jones (who Lance has the Cowboys taking again in his do-over), DE Randy Gregory (who fell to #60 because of off-the-field issues), and OL La'el Collins (who also went undrafted thanks to an unfortunate pre-draft circumstance). You might as well up that number to four with David Irving who, in this Zierlein do-over, goes higher than any of them.
Irving will very likely get more work on the outside edge in 2017 for the Cowboys as Dallas looks to firm up their defensive line (stop me if you've heard that before). Hopefully the Cowboys give him some friends to play with there in the 2017 NFL Draft and hopefully it doesn't take a do-over two years later to realize the impact of it.
