The 2024 NFL Draft is approaching and it’s nearly time for the Dallas Cowboys to do what they do best: draft good players.
Will McClay and his staff have done wonders since he was given more control over building the roster.
Over the past 10 seasons, Dallas has done a masterful job hitting on most of their picks, even late-round and undrafted players.
Thanks to trades executed last offseason for Trey Lance (4th round), Brandin Cooks (5th round), and Stephon Gilmore (5th round), the draft cupboard was bare for McClay & Co.
I speak in the past tense because the NFL just awarded compensatory picks to teams who qualify, helping the Cowboys bridge the massive gap of emptiness between the third and seventh rounds.
Dallas was awarded two picks this year, one fifth-round pick (173 overall) and the other a sixth (216 overall) to bring their total picks in the draft up to seven.
The Cowboys have a pick in each round except the fourth, and they have two picks in the final round.
Like the rest of the draft, Dallas has had success with compensatory picks in the past.
Here is the full list of players the Cowboys have drafted with compensatory picks since 2014, along with the round they were drafted:
- SS Ahmad Dixon (7th, 248)
- DT Ken Bishop (7th, 251)
- CB Terrance Mitchell (7th, 254)
- QB Dak Prescott (4th, 135)
- S Kavon Frazier (6th, 212)
- RB Darius Jackson (6th, 216)
- TE Rico Gathers (6th, 217)
- CB Marquez White (6th, 216)
- TE Dalton Schultz (4th, 137)
- QB Mike White (5th, 171)
- WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. (6th, 208)
- S Donovan Wilson (6th, 213)
- C Tyler Biadasz (4th, 146)
- DE Bradlee Anae (5th, 179)
- CB Nahshon Wright (3rd, 99)
- OT Josh Ball (4th, 138)
- WR Simi Fehoko (5th, 179)
- S Israel Mukuamu (6th, 227)
- LB Damone Clark (5th, 176)
- DT John Ridgeway III (5th, 178)
- OT Asim Richards (5th, 169)
- RB Deuce Vaughn (6th, 212)
Today, I’d like to rank the three best players the Cowboys have drafted with compensatory picks from the list above.
3. TE Dalton Schultz
The Cowboys drafted Dalton Schultz in the 4th round of the 2018 NFL Draft from the University of Stanford.
Schultz’s career with the Cowboys started slow with just 13 receptions for 122 yards over his first two seasons despite playing in 27 games.
He didn’t get more involved in the offense until his third season with the team, breaking out during a Covid-stricken 2020 season.
Off the field, Schultz is perhaps best known for going on a blocking spree on Twitter/X after the Cowboys chose to pay him $11.9 million for one season on the franchise tag.
I was one of his victims for tweeting out my disapproval of the team’s decision to use a large portion of the salary cap on a player who isn’t considered dynamic.
Schultz finished his Cowboys career with 211 receptions for 2,122 yards and 17 touchdowns in five seasons.
He now plays for the Houston Texans, who just rewarded him with a new contract.
2. S Donovan Wilson
The Cowboys drafted Donovan Wilson in the 6th round of the 2019 NFL Draft from Texas A&M University.
He played primarily special teams in his first season before becoming a large part of the defensive rotation in 2020.
Wilson had a breakout season in 2020, starting 10 games and recording 71 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and two interceptions.
He played well enough to earn a second contract with the Cowboys after the 2022 season.
1. QB Dak Prescott
After reviewing the list of compensatory draft picks in Cowboys’ history, the number one ranked player was too easy to choose.
QB Dak Prescott was drafted in the 4th round of the 2016 NFL Draft from Mississippi State University.
He is perhaps the most scrutinized player in the NFL, but it comes with the territory of being the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.
Prescott has already established himself as one of the most successful quarterbacks in Cowboys history in just eight seasons.
The goal is obviously the Super Bowl, and even though the team hasn’t sniffed one in the Prescott era, the impact he has had on the franchise is undeniable.
Dak Prescott is the best compensatory pick the Cowboys have drafted in the modern era.