The Dallas Cowboys front office is often praised for its ability to draft at one position: the offensive line.
History seems to bear that out, especially in recent years. Here’s a look at the Cowboys’ drafted offensive linemen in the first four rounds, dating back to the 2010 draft.
- 2011 Tyron Smith
- 2013 Travis Frederick
- 2014 Zack Martin
- 2018 Connor Williams
- 2019 Connor McGovern
- 2020 Tyler Biadasz
- 2022 Tyler Smith
- 2024 Tyler Guyton
- 2024 Cooper Beebe
- 2025 Tyler Booker
All 10 were starters for the Cowboys. Three – Williams, McGovern, and Biadasz – have become starters with other teams.
Tyron Smith had a Hall of Fame career in Dallas before playing one final season with the Jets.
Frederick’s career was cut short by a non-football illness while Martin retired after last year.
Tyler Smith, Guyton, Beebe, and Booker are likely to start this season. That’s an impressive run.
But where the front office has shined at drafting offensive linemen, they have not been so fortunate at another position.
The Dirty Dozen
Here’s a list of players Dallas has drafted at linebacker over the same period of time:
- 2010 Sean Lee
- 2011 Bruce Carter
- 2012 Kyle Wilbur
- 2014 Anthony Hitchens
- 2015 Randy Gregory
- 2015 Damien Wilson
- 2016 Jaylon Smith
- 2018 Leighton Vander Esch
- 2021 Micah Parsons
- 2021 Jabril Cox
- 2023 DeMarvion Overshown
- 2024 Marist Liufau
Parsons and Gregory were drafted as linebackers but were both used mostly as edge players.
Carter had four good years in Dallas before the Cowboys declined to re-sign him after the 2014 season. Wilbur was good as mostly a backup before joining the Raiders in 2018.
Both Hitchens and Wilson were very good for the Cowboys for four years, but they too were allowed to walk in free agency to Kansas City, where they both won a Super Bowl.
Cox had minimal numbers in his two years in Dallas before joining the Commanders in 2023.
When the Cowboys didn’t discard a linebacker after four years, they ran into a reoccurring issue. They couldn’t keep them on the field.
A MASH Unit
Lee only played in two games as a rookie without starting either. He missed the entire 2014 season with a torn ACL.
He only played in every game of a single season just once, in 2019, and only started in 13 of those 16 games.
When he was on the field, he was one of the league’s best.
But he missed 58 games in his 11 years in Dallas and barely started over 50% of the Cowboys games between 2010-2020.
Vander Esch had six great years. But he, too, could not stay healthy, playing a full season only twice out of the six.
His final season ended in the fifth game of the 2023 campaign, when a dirty play resulted in a career-ending neck injury.
Overshown has been a solid linebacker, but he hasn’t been able to stay on the field either.
He missed his entire 2023 season due to a knee injury suffered in the preseason. He played in 13 games last year before another knee injury ended his season in 2024.
He might be back by Thanksgiving Day this year.
The Exceptions
Smith, who was drafted in the second round with a pre-existing knee injury, missed the entire 2016 season.
However, he rebounded with four good years before playing in the first four games of his fifth season and ending up in Green Bay in the 2021 season. But he avoided the injury bug at least.
As did Liufau during his rookie year last year.
The Cowboys will need more injury-free seasons like Liufau’s from their linebackers going forward.
Maybe they should also try keeping the good ones around for longer than just four seasons too.
