Did the Dallas Cowboys win the NFL Draft?

The Dallas Cowboys were able to add three first round talents to the draft this year in CB Byron Jones, DE/LB Randy Gregory and the newly acquired La’el Collins.

Early Thursday afternoon, LSU offensive tackle La’el Collins signed with the Dallas Cowboys. Although he started off as a potential first round selection, the tackle was embroiled in a controversy when he was asked to return to Baton Rouge, Louisiana in order to be questioned in a murder investigation. Collins was passed in the draft, and was not picked up in the initial wave of undrafted free agent signings.

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With the Cowboys, Collins bolsters what is perhaps the best offensive line in football. He caps off a draft and free agency period that saw the Cowboys also take Connecticut cornerback Byron Jones and Nebraska defensive end/linebacker Randy Gregory, two other first round talents with high ceilings.

The reason the Cowboys were able to pick up these players was because they had a number of red flags. Jones was a clean prospect, but Gregory had reported behavior and maturity issues, while Collins had the murder investigation.

It would be easy to claim that the Cowboys have decided to pick up criminals for their team in the wake of signing defensive end Greg Hardy. The Cowboys have spun this as a humanitarian act rather than one to simply improve their football team, so they have the PR to incorporate a criminal element into their organization. But characterizing Gregory and Collins as criminals is a wild overreaction until they have actually committed any serious crimes.

What Gregory, Collins and Jones provide an already strong Dallas team with is potential long term talent for a team ready to win now.

So, did the Cowboys “win” the NFL Draft?

In the grand scheme of things, it is impossible to “win” the NFL Draft. They can win the Draft in the same way the fat, neckless, thumb-headed guy in a Deadpool costume “wins” Comic-Con. The idea is to have the best possible draft; for the sake of competitive edge you don’t wish a good draft on a rival, but with a bounty of picks how well another team drafts shouldn’t affect how well you draft.

Secondly, it is impossible to know how well these players will pan out. To declare someone’s draft as being immediately superior lacks foresight. Any one of these drafts could eventually yield multiple Hall of Famers, or make no impact whatsoever.

But, in terms of putting yourself in a position to succeed by adding promising prospects, the Dallas Cowboys absolutely did the best of anyone in the Draft. The Cowboys prospects collectively have the best chance of all to be successful in the NFL. They would have to live up to their upside, but the Cowboys did the best job of putting themselves in a position to have a future star player. That is the purpose of the Draft, and the Cowboys overachieved for that purpose.

So, with all of the qualifying statements out of the way, the Cowboys did have the best draft of anyone in the league.

Next: Best NFL Draft picks for each team's history

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