In the midst of a season filled with disappointment and injuries, players who don’t normally get much playing time all of a sudden find themselves starting a game or two. At the very least, deep bench players becoming part of the rotation is a good way to evaluate talent.
The Dallas Cowboys are one of the better drafting teams in the NFL, and that’s not just a biased statement from a Cowboys fan and sportswriter. Will McClay & Co. have done an incredible job securing talent at the top of the draft and finding diamonds in the rough in the later rounds.
Since McClay took hold of the draft reins back in 2013, he has drafted the following Pro Bowl players in the 1st round:
- 2013: C Travis Frederick
- 2014: RG Zack Martin
- 2015: DB Byron Jones
- 2016: RB Ezekiel Elliott
- 2018: LB Leighton Vander Esch
- 2020: WR CeeDee Lamb
- 2021: EDGE Micah Parsons
- 2022: LG Tyler Smith
The lone miss in that span was DE Taco Charlton (2017) and the jury is still out on DT Mazi Smith in his second season. He has shown improvement, and may be on the same track as the rest of McClay’s 1st round picks.
Players from the 2021 draft class who still remain are getting their chance to show what they have to get a new contract from the Cowboys. Some are putting good film on tape for other teams, hoping to land somewhere else in 2025.
Well, the players that remain, anyway. The 2021 draft class was not McClay’s best work. It was defensive heavy, but it needed to be after a horrendous 2020 season. There were hits like EDGE Micah Parsons, DT Osa Odighizuwa, DE Chauncey Golston, and S Israel Mukuamu. I wouldn’t call OL Josh Ball a hit, but he is still on the practice squad.
However, the rest of the class is no longer with the team, and maybe it has to do with the fact that those were “Quinn guys”, as in Dan Quinn, the Cowboys former defensive coordinator. Here is a review of these 2021 draft failures, and where they are now.
Fallen Stars
Here are the players who are no longer with the team from the 2021 draft class.
CB Kelvin Joseph
The last time we heard Kelvin Joseph’s name mentioned was before the 2023 season started. He was in the news because the Cowboys traded him away to the Miami Dolphins for Noah Igbinoghene in a straight-up exchange of beleaguered early round cornerbacks.
Joseph became a good special teams player, but nothing more. His rap career seemed to matter more than his football career, and that’s why he is out of the league today.
CB Nahshon Wright
Nahshon Wright is another corner from this draft class that the Cowboys traded away for another cornerback. Just like Joseph, Wright never quite developed into the player the Cowboys hoped he’d be when they used the 99th overall pick on him.
Before the start of the 2024 season, Wright was shipped off to Minnesota in exchange for CB Andrew Booth, a 2nd round pick of the Vikings who hadn’t developed for them either. Wright is currently a member of the Vikings’ practice squad.
LB Jabril Cox
Jabril Cox was hailed as an incredible athlete out of LSU, and getting him in the 4th round was supposed to be a steal. He showed incredible speed on the field, but a torn ACL stopped that in a hurry and Cox never really recovered.
He became hesitant, and it was apparent he did not trust his surgically repaired knee. The Cowboys released him before the 2022 season. He landed with Washington for a season, but currently is not in the NFL.
WR Simi Fehoko
Simi Fehoko was a 5th round pick in the 2021 draft, but he could never quite get over the hump to see the field for the Cowboys on a consistent basis. Fehoko was a training camp star every offseason, but couldn’t get past the practice squad.
Fehoko never started a game, and managed just four receptions for 33 yards before being released after the 2022 season. He landed with the Chargers, where he currently still remains.
DT Quinton Bohanna
Dallas continues to miss out on players for the defensive interior. They have been trying to address their problem at the 1-tech position, and Quinton Bohanna was one of those solutions.
He didn’t work out, and the Cowboys released him after the 2022 season. He has since played for both Detroit and Tennessee, and is currently on the Seahawks’ practice squad.
OL Matt Farniok
Matt Farniok was the Cowboys’ final pick of the 2021 draft, and like Ball mentioned above, Farniok never developed into the player the Cowboys wanted him to be.
He ended up behind rookies on the depth chart, and the Cowboys released him before the 2023 season. Farniok spent some time in Detroit, but is currently out of the NFL.