With the NFL draft wrapping up this past weekend talented young athletes are welcomed to their new teams with open arms and large paychecks. The draft is a time where fans celebrate the new additions to their teams, and the players celebrate their life long dreams coming true. NFL free agency is well behind us, and we can begin to see how teams are shaping out before training camp.
The evening of May 8th 2014 was highly anticipated, it’s a night where every team gets the chance to improve by adding promising young talent to their roster. Arguably the leagues most popular team held the 16th pick in the draft and quite a bit of buzz surrounded the Dallas Cowboys and whom they were looking to pick. Names such as Aaron Donald and Anthony Barr would have been choices that would make sense. Add defensive talent to a team that had plenty of holes on the defensive side of the ball.
For those who know how the draft works, plans usually never go as expected. Both Donald and Barr were taken by the time the Cowboys were on the clock, but one name in particular had fallen much farther then anyone could have expected. The most popular name in the 2014 draft class sat still in Radio City Music Hall waiting for his name to be called. The clock was winding down and anticipation was rising. Some called it a “match made in heaven”.
The Cowboys Draft Party was loud and filled with excitement. Fans knew who they wanted and they thought they knew who America’s Team was going to select. The crowd rambunctiously cheered “Johnny Football” over and over again. The biggest name in college football coming to the most popular team in the NFL. That’s what the majority of Dallas fans were hoping for.
Time winded down, then the clock passed to Baltimore, the Cowboys had made their selection. The NFL Commissioner walked up on stage and stood at the microphone. Commissioner Goodell then began to speak; “With the 16th pick in the 2014 NFL draft, The Dallas Cowboys select Zack Martin guard from Notre Dame.” The crowd at Cowboys stadium stood silent for just a moment, and then began to boo.
I thought that this was a brilliant pick for Dalls. No one had expected Zack Martin to still be there by the 16th pick as he was rated as the 8th best player in the draft. Martin played four years at Notre Dame and started his freshman year. During those four years he stood as a corner stone for that offensive line, being one of the best tackles in college football.
The Cowboys passing on Johnny Manziel was a great move, they already have their needs met at the quarterback position with Tony Romo. Now some may argue that Romo doesn’t have the durability to last through the season. At the age of 34 years old, coming off of two back surgeries in the past 12 months, it’s fair to assume that Romo’s days of football are coming to a close. So why not take Manziel? The Cowboys have over 40 million dollars invested in Tony Romo over the next two seasons, and that isn’t going to go away. The Cowboys made the right decision in getting a good, versatile offensive lineman to protect their franchise quarterback for the end of his career.
Here’s a list of the other players the Cowboys selected in rounds 2-7 of the 2014 NFL Draft as well as the undrafted rookie free agents.
Rookie Draft Picks:
DE – Demarcus Lawrence (2nd)
ILB Anthony Hitchens (4th)
WR Devin Street (5th)
DE Ben Gardner (7th)
OLB Will Smith (7th)
SS Ahmad Dixon (7th)
DT Ken Bishop (7th)
CB Terrance Mitchell (7th)
Undrafted Rookie Free Agents:
WR L’Damian Washington
FB J.C. Copeland
P Cody Mandell
QB Dustin Vaughan
OG Brian Clarke
TE Jordan Najvar
DT Davon Coleman
CB Dashaun Phillips
LB Dontavis Sapp
LS Casey Kreiter
WR Chris Boyd
RB Ben Malena
S Ryan Smith
ILB Keith Smith
OG Ronald Patrick
OT Jerrod Pughsley
RB Glasco Martin
TE Evan Wilson
FS Marvin Robinson
CB Jocquel Skinner
OT Josh Aladenoye
DE Joe Windsor
OG Andre Cureton
DT Chris Whaley
