May 8, 2014 was a fateful night for the Dallas Cowboys that started what they have today.
It was the first night of the 2014 NFL Draft when, after some on-the-clock quarreling among the Jones family and other front office executives ultimately gave way to a Dallas decision to turn in a card that read "Zack Martin, guard, Notre Dame" instead of "Johnny Manziel, quarterback, Texas A&M."
And it was that singular, watershed moment that kicked off the Cowboys' remarkable nearly decade-long run of drafting. Because in the nine-year stretch that has followed, the Cowboys drafted 11 players who've gone on to make either a Pro Bowl or an All-Pro team.
While the 2023 class has yet to spawn another Cowboys star, 2022 draftees Tyler Smith and DaRon Bland are trending toward being the two newest members of that illustrious success story fraternity for Dallas' scouting department.
Here's a chart of all those Cowboys:
| Name / Draft Year | Pro Bowls | First Team All-Pro | Second Team All-Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
Zack Martin / 2014 | 8 | 6 | 2 |
DeMarcus Lawrence / 2014 | 3 | 1 | |
Byron Jones / 2015 | 1 | 1 | |
Ezekiel Elliott / 2016 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
Jaylon Smith / 2016 | 1 | ||
Dak Prescott / 2016 | 2 | ||
Leighton Vander Esch / 2018 | 1 | 1 | |
Tony Pollard / 2018 | 1 | ||
CeeDee Lamb / 2020 | 2 | 1 | |
Trevon Diggs / 2020 | 2 | 1 | |
Micah Parsons / 2021 | 2 | 2 |
The 2023 class marks the 10th year of Cowboys drafting starting with the Martin selection at No. 16 overall in 2014. If Smith sneaks into the Pro Bowl -- and yes, I know it's more a popularity contest than anything else but is still generally reserved for quality players -- and Bland makes an All-Pro team, which he should, that'd be a grand total of 13 of those distinguished Cowboys in a decade for Dallas.
In this praise-heaping I can't omit the likes of Randy Gregory, Maliek Collins, Xavier Woods, Chidobe Awuzie, Noah Brown, Dalton Schultz, Cedrick Wilson Jr., and Connor McGovern, who got their starts as Cowboys draft picks and had or are currently experiencing clear-cut success on other teams across the NFL.
But, vital to the Cowboys' 8-3 record and league-best +162 point differential entering Week 13 is the fact that a whopping eight of those 11 Pro Bowl or All-Pros drafted by the Cowboys have contributed or are currently key contributors to this 2023 team.
And when you have such a strong drafting history -- the ability to hit home runs like Parsons, Diggs and Lamb in back-to-back drafts -- the rest of the roster doesn't need to be chock full of incredible role players. Plus, with many of those serious stars on rookie deals, the club is financially free to acquire veterans perfectly suited to round out the roster.
This year in Dallas -- enter former Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore at cornerback and six-time 1,000-yard wideout Brandin Cooks. Gilmore is second on the team (to Bland) with 10 pass breakups and has snagged two interceptions of his own. Cooks is second on the team with 452 yards and four receiving scores.
And for as much as Jerry and Stephen Jones have their hands in the Cowboys pre-draft and on-the-clock selection process, the club's VP of Player Personnel Will McClay deserves much of the recognition here.
He began with the club as a pro scout in 2003, was the assistant director of player personnel in 2014, moved to senior director of pro and college scouting in 2015 and 2016, and has held his current title since 2017. He's been as integral as anyone inside the Cowboys brain trust when picking the likes of Prescott, Pollard, Lamb, Diggs and Parsons.
During a time when there's more star player movement via trade than ever, and the chaotic nature of free agency in March is seemingly topped every year, the Cowboys' status as the NFL's best drafting team of the past decade is the foundation of where this dangerous team is today.