Dallas Cowboys
Battle card · first-round draft history, season-by-season record, and how Cowboys top picks have shaped the franchise.
R1 Picks
56
Hall of Famers
6
10.7% hit rate
Avg pick slot
17.8
Highest pick
#1
Too Tall Jones · 1974
All-time record
509–367–1
0.581 win %
Playoff seasons
32
of 56
The Story
- Dallas Cowboys have made 56 first-round selections and produced 6 Hall of Famers (10.7% hit rate).
- Their highest selection on record is #1 overall in 1974, when they took Too Tall Jones.
- Across 56 seasons in this dataset they have a 509-367-1 record (0.581) and reached the playoffs 32 times.
- In seasons after holding at least one top-10 pick, Dallas Cowboys added an average of 2.1 wins versus the prior year (11 such seasons in the data).
- Their most-drafted position group is DL, taken 17 times in Round 1.
- Michigan is their go-to talent pipeline, supplying 3 first-round picks.
- Their best season was 1977: 12-2-0 (+133 point differential).
- Their worst was 1989: 1-15-0 (-189 point differential).
Wins per Season
R1 Pick Slot by Year
Position Breakdown
Point Differential by Season
Impact of Top-10 Picks (Next-Season Wins Delta)
| Draft Year | Pick | Player | Prior-Year Wins | New-Year Wins | Delta | HoF? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | #1 | Too Tall Jones | 10 | 8 | -2 | |
| 1975 | #2 | Randy White | 8 | 10 | +2 | HoF |
| 1977 | #2 | Tony Dorsett | 11 | 12 | +1 | HoF |
| 1989 | #1 | Troy Aikman | 3 | 1 | -2 | HoF |
| 1991 | #1 | Russell Maryland | 7 | 11 | +4 | |
| 1998 | #8 | Greg Ellis | 6 | 10 | +4 | |
| 2002 | #8 | Roy Williams | 5 | 5 | +0 | |
| 2003 | #5 | Terence Newman | 5 | 10 | +5 | |
| 2011 | #9 | Tyron Smith | 6 | 8 | +2 | |
| 2012 | #6 | Morris Claiborne | 8 | 8 | +0 | |
| 2016 | #4 | Ezekiel Elliott | 4 | 13 | +9 |
Hall of Fame Selections
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | #2 | Randy White | DT | Maryland |
| 1977 | #2 | Tony Dorsett | RB | Pittsburgh |
| 1988 | #11 | Michael Irvin | WR | Miami (FL) |
| 1989 | #1 | Troy Aikman | QB | UCLA |
| 1990 | #17 | Emmitt Smith | RB | Florida |
| 2005 | #11 | DeMarcus Ware | LB | Troy |
Every First-Round Pick
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | College | HoF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | #23 | Duane Thomas | RB | West Texas A&M | |
| 1971 | #25 | Tody Smith | DE | USC | |
| 1972 | #26 | Bill Thomas | RB | Boston Col. | |
| 1973 | #20 | Billy Joe DuPree | TE | Michigan St. | |
| 1974 | #1 | Too Tall Jones | DE | Tennessee St. | |
| 1974 | #22 | Charley Young | RB | North Carolina St. | |
| 1975 | #2 | Randy White | DT | Maryland | HoF |
| 1975 | #18 | Thomas Henderson | LB | Langston | |
| 1976 | #27 | Aaron Kyle | DB | Wyoming | |
| 1977 | #2 | Tony Dorsett | RB | Pittsburgh | HoF |
| 1978 | #28 | Larry Bethea | DT | Michigan St. | |
| 1979 | #27 | Robert Shaw | C | Tennessee | |
| 1981 | #26 | Howard Richards | G | Missouri | |
| 1982 | #25 | Rod Hill | DB | Kentucky St. | |
| 1983 | #23 | Jim Jeffcoat | DE | Arizona St. | |
| 1984 | #25 | Billy Cannon | LB | Texas A&M | |
| 1985 | #17 | Kevin Brooks | DT | Michigan | |
| 1986 | #18 | Mike Sherrard | WR | UCLA | |
| 1987 | #12 | Danny Noonan | DT | Nebraska | |
| 1988 | #11 | Michael Irvin | WR | Miami (FL) | HoF |
| 1989 | #1 | Troy Aikman | QB | UCLA | HoF |
| 1990 | #17 | Emmitt Smith | RB | Florida | HoF |
| 1991 | #1 | Russell Maryland | DT | Miami (FL) | |
| 1991 | #12 | Alvin Harper | WR | Tennessee | |
| 1991 | #20 | Kelvin Pritchett | DT | Mississippi | |
| 1992 | #17 | Kevin Smith | DB | Texas A&M | |
| 1992 | #24 | Robert Jones | LB | East Carolina | |
| 1994 | #23 | Shante Carver | DE | Arizona St. | |
| 1997 | #22 | David LaFleur | TE | LSU | |
| 1998 | #8 | Greg Ellis | DE | North Carolina | |
| 1999 | #20 | Ebenezer Ekuban | DE | North Carolina | |
| 2002 | #8 | Roy Williams | DB | Oklahoma | |
| 2003 | #5 | Terence Newman | DB | Kansas St. | |
| 2005 | #11 | DeMarcus Ware | LB | Troy | HoF |
| 2005 | #20 | Marcus Spears | DE | LSU | |
| 2006 | #18 | Bobby Carpenter | LB | Ohio St. | |
| 2007 | #26 | Anthony Spencer | DE | Purdue | |
| 2008 | #22 | Felix Jones | RB | Arkansas | |
| 2008 | #25 | Mike Jenkins | DB | South Florida | |
| 2010 | #24 | Dez Bryant | WR | Oklahoma St. | |
| 2011 | #9 | Tyron Smith | T | USC | |
| 2012 | #6 | Morris Claiborne | DB | LSU | |
| 2013 | #31 | Travis Frederick | C | Wisconsin | |
| 2014 | #16 | Zack Martin | G | Notre Dame | |
| 2015 | #27 | Byron Jones | CB | Connecticut | |
| 2016 | #4 | Ezekiel Elliott | RB | Ohio St. | |
| 2017 | #28 | Taco Charlton | DE | Michigan | |
| 2018 | #19 | Leighton Vander Esch | OLB | Boise St. | |
| 2020 | #17 | CeeDee Lamb | WR | Oklahoma | |
| 2021 | #12 | Micah Parsons | LB | Penn St. | |
| 2022 | #24 | Tyler Smith | OL | Tulsa | |
| 2023 | #26 | Mazi Smith | DL | Michigan | |
| 2024 | #29 | Tyler Guyton | OL | Oklahoma | |
| 2025 | #12 | Tyler Booker | OL | Alabama | |
| 2026 | #11 | Caleb Downs | S | Ohio St. | |
| 2026 | #23 | Malachi Lawrence | DE | Central Florida |