Every NFL team’s biggest draft whiff of all time
By Brad Rowland
Dallas Cowboys – Bobby Carpenter (No. 18 pick, 2006)
As you will undoubtedly notice if you read through this entire piece, the best organizations in the NFL just don’t have giant missteps in the NFL draft. Sure, everybody (yes, everybody) misses on important picks at some point, but the top franchises almost never pick in the top ten, and when they do, they hit in glorious fashion.
That sentiment applies to the Dallas Cowboys, as it is legitimately difficult to unearth their worst picks. Names like David LaFleur, Rod Hill, Quincy Carter and Shante Carver come to mind, but in the end, we’re going with former Ohio State linebacker Bobby Carpenter.
Carpenter was a fast-rising prospect in the 2006 NFL Draft due to his measurables, and that is usually a good recipe for a bust. During his four-year tenure in Dallas, Carpenter contributed a total of 72 tackles, and that lack of production is basically inexplicable for a player that did not battle serious injury issues. He was completely out of the league by 2012. The rest is history.
Folks in Dallas probably think they are alone in remembering Carpenter’s ugly tenure with the team, but we certainly recall how unproductive and uninspiring it was.
Next: Denver Broncos