Cowboys 1st & 10: Best NFL Draft Round 1 Picks & Top 10 Stories

In this edition of First and 10, I dig into Dallas Cowboys history and find the five best first-round picks in team history, plus Cowboys news of the week as we prep for the NFL Draft

1) THE 5 BEST FIRST-ROUND PICKS IN DALLAS COWBOYS HISTORY

With less than a week to go before the start of the 2020 NFL Draft, I dug into the Dallas Cowboys’ past 59 NFL Drafts to see which five players should go down as the ‘best’ first-round picks in Cowboys history. The criteria? Well, I guess it’s my gut since it’s my list. But I’ll also look at the player’s longevity, expectations, impact on the Cowboys during their playing days and much more. You expect something in return from a player when you select them in the first round, right? And don’t forget, last week I gave you my five ‘worst’ first round picks in Dallas Cowboys history.

So, here we go, in alphabetical order.

QB Troy Aikman: The No. 1 overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft, Aikman is just one of three Cowboys quarterbacks to be taken in the first round. The other? Sonny Gibbs and Craig Morton. Aikman was a lead-pipe lock to be the No. 1 overall pick, but that doesn’t mean he was going to be a Hall of Famer. After throwing for nearly 33,000 yards, winning three Super Bowl rings and earning Super Bowl MVP honors in Super Bowl XXVII, Aikman deserves a spot on this list. After all, think of the ‘Triplets’ without Aikman? Think of those three Super Bowl runs without Aikman?

RB Tony Dorsett: Before there was Emmitt Smith, there was Tony Dorsett, taken No. 2 overall in 1977. The Cowboys were looking for a back that could take them to the next level after several years of not hitting at the position. Dorsett started as a rookie, rushed for more than 1,000 yards and helped fuel the Cowboys’ run to a victory in Super Bowl XII. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards eight times, finished his career with 12,739 rushing yards and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was the right back and the right time for the Cowboys, as they went to the playoffs in each of Dorsett’s first seven seasons.

WR Michael Irvin: Irvin was taken in the first round, No. 11 overall, in the final year of the leadership team of head coach Tom Landry, general manager Tex Schramm and director of player personnel Gil Brandt. The Cowboys’ last four first-round picks had been relative groaners (Billy Cannon Jr., Kevin Brooks, Mike Sherrard and Danny Noonan), and the Cowboys needed a player that could make an impact. Irvin did just that after a stellar career at Miami (FL). Like his fellow ‘Triplets,’ Irvin left with three Super Bowl rings and a bust at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. He’s the top pass-catcher in Cowboys history among wide receivers with 750 receptions, 69 of them for touchdowns.

DL Bob Lilly: The first draft pick in Dallas Cowboys history, Lilly’s impact on the Cowboys is hard to quantify statistically. Back in 1961, the NFL didn’t keep the statistics on defensive players that it does now, specifically, sacks. But Lilly’s selection brought the Cowboys instant legitimacy after an All-America career at TCU. Unimaginably durable (he played all 196 games of his 14-year NFL career), Lilly was a seven-time All-Pro selection who led the Cowboys to two Super Bowls, including a win in Super Bowl VI. Lilly was selected to two All-NFL Decade teams (1960s and 1970s) and to both the NFL’s 75th anniversary and 100th anniversary teams. Lilly built the foundation of the Dallas Cowboys organization.

RB Emmitt Smith: You could make the argument that Smith should be considered the Cowboys’ best first-round pick of all time. Smith, the first-round pick in 1990, won three Super Bowl rings, was an NFL and Super Bowl MVP and ended his career as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher with 18,355 yards. He broke the record, held by Walter Payton, while still a Cowboy. He also owns the NFL’s record for most rushing touchdowns in a career (164), and that ranks only behind San Francisco wide receiver Jerry Rice (208) for second-most total touchdowns all time. His bust at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, was inevitable, and it happened on the first ballot. Smith did everything a first-round pick is supposed to do.

2) MY TENTH COWBOYS SI 7-ROUND MOCK DRAFT — ‘CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE’

Earlier this week I published my tenth Dallas Cowboys 7-round mock draft. In my next-to-last mock draft before the NFL Draft begins on Thursday, it’s a ‘choose your own adventure’ mock draft. In the first round of three different mocks, I take a player at a position of need for the Cowboys, the three positions most mock drafts have focused on — defensive end, defensive back and wide receiver. The idea is to see how that first selection influences the rest of the Cowboys’ draft.

Check out the piece here. And, on Wednesday, look for Mock No. 11, my last before the NFL Draft begins.

And, don’t forget, links to my previous 7-round mocks are below:

Mock Draft 1.0 (Jan. 27)

Mock Draft 2.0 (Feb. 4)

Mock Draft 3.0 (Feb. 11)

Mock Draft 4.0 (Feb. 18)

Mock Draft 5.0 (March 5)

Mock Draft 6.0 (March 12)

Mock Draft 7.0 (March 19)

Mock Draft 8.0 (March 26)

Mock Draft 9.0 (April 3)

In other Mock Draft news, Pro Football Focus did its own three-round Cowboys Mock Draft earlier this week, and our Mike Fisher broke down each of the three picks and their likelihood of reaching the Cowboys.

Later, Fisher explored a scenario in which the Cowboys could execute a trade in order to claim two first-round picks. Now, it would take a lot of doing and there’s some educated guessing going on, but you know ‘Trader Jerry,’ right? He’s willing to do anything for an edge.

TCU wide receiver Jalen Reagor is local to the Dallas area, as he grew up in Waxahachie, Texas. Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has seen Reagor quite a bit, going back to those high school days because Jones’ grandsons played for Highland Park, and those two teams met from time to time. Well, Reagor is looking like a first-round pick, and he’s met with the Cowboys. Fisher has the details.

Now, if you’re a gambler — and I mean a real gambler, someone that places bets on sporting events (or at least used to) — then there are odds for which player the Cowboys might take in the first round. We have the details here.

Finally, linebacker Michael Pinckney of Miami (FL) hasn’t appeared in any of my mock drafts. But that doesn’t mean the Cowboys aren’t interested in him. Bri Amaranthus caught up with Pinckney, who projects as a third-day selection in the NFL Draft.

Oh, and one more thing. Peter King reported earlier this week that the Cowboys may have their eye on a trade to maneuver their way into a place to draft a center in the first round, something similar to what the Cowboys did when they selected the now-retired Travis Frederick.

3) MORE DRAFT NEWS

The Dallas Cowboys' 2020 NFL Draft will be conducted in a "virtual'' way. And so will the team's fans draft party, scheduled for Thursday, April 23 and hosted by entertainment superstar (and Terrell, Texas, native) Jamie Foxx.

Click here for more about the virtual draft party and the Cowboys’ plans for draft weekend.

4) JAMAL ADAMS, COWBOYS TARGET (YET AGAIN)?

Jamal Adams, another Dallas-area product, was on the Cowboys’ radar last season as a potential trade target to address the safety position. Now, nothing came of it, of course. And the expectation, especially on Adams’ part, was that his team, the New York Jets, would extend his contract. Well, here we are, less than a week before the draft, and Adams is talking about holding out of Jets team activities (virtual, of course) until he gets what he wants.

Does that mean Adams is available via trade? And does that mean the Cowboys might revisit the possibility? Our Mike Fisher goes real deep to explain the history, the situation and the potential.

5) THE DAK ‘VIRTUAL HOLDOUT’ AND WHY IT’S TIME FOR THE COWBOYS TO PAY UP

With the NFL authorizing teams to begin what they’re calling virtual organized team activities (starting on Monday), that allows a player like Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who is under the franchise tender for 2020, but wants a longer deal, to stage a ‘holdout’ of sorts to try and get a new deal. Prescott hinted he could stage a disappearing act from OTAs earlier this offseason, though it remains to be seen how that would go over in the virtual world of the moment. But it sounds like when the Cowboys fire up the laptops on Monday, Prescott probably wont' be in attendance.

Our Bri Amaranthus made the case this week that it’s time for the Cowboys to tie Prescott up in a new deal sooner rather than later.

Plus, Prescott wants to clear the air about his ‘dinner party.’

And, the Cowboys, as of April 14, said they were not aware that Prescott was planning to not show up for virtual OTAs starting Monday. I wonder if they're aware of it now?

And, people still think Dak isn’t worth the money. The only difference between Prescott and three other young players who were in similar positions is Super Bowl rings — Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberer and Russell Wilson. All three won Super Bowls in their second season in the league and while on rookie deals. So, if THAT’S your criteria for why Prescott isn’t worth it, then, OK, sure, in comparison to that, he’s not. But as I always ask, what is your alternative? And if you think the Cowboys are just going to draft another quarterback next week and hit lighting in a bottle again, I believe that’s simply too big a risk to take.

6) CELEBRATING THE COWBOYS’ 60TH

The Dallas Cowboys are celebrating their 60th season in the NFL in 2020 and Richie Whitt is counting down the 60 biggest moments in franchise history. Here’s the link to the full list.

7) WHITT’S END ON … THE COWBOYS’ MOST UNIQUE DRAFT PICKS

While Whitt’s End is often decidedly Mavs-centered, Richie Whitt does write about the Dallas Cowboys’ most unique draft selections, plus his list of the best and worst picks in team history and so much more.

8) MARTIN HAS HIS EYES ON THE FUTURE

Last week the NFL released its All-Decade team for the 2010’s and two Cowboys made the First Team — tackle Tyron Smith and guard Zack Martin. Martin talked about the honor earlier this week, and Martin, at just 29 years old, sees potential for more honors down the line.

9) RANKING QB SITUATIONS

Sports Illustrated’s Connor Orr ranked every NFL quarterback situation from No. 1 to No. 32 this week, and with that our Mike Fisher brought further analysis on the Cowboys’ ranking and what that means for the 2020 season, the NFL Draft and Dak Prescott’s contract situation. Check it out right here.

Then, of course, Cowboys Twitter lit up like a Christmas tree.

10) TWEET OF THE WEEK

When you could hit people and refs didn’t care. Poor Craig Morton.

Wanna talk Cowboys? Hit up Postins on Twitter at @PostinsPostcard.