The Dallas Cowboys have had an embarrassing history recently in which their draft board has somehow gone public. It happened first in 2010, and then again in 2013. And now, it appears it has happened for a third time. Our friends at Blogging The Boys came across a tweet that appears to show the draft board, and they have reconstructed it.
I doubt the Cowboys will ever confirm that was the board, but it does raise some interesting discussion. Each team creates its own draft board, and evaluates talent in different ways. But it can provide an idea of what another team may have thought about a prospect other teams ended up drafting. And so, let’s take a look at some San Francisco 49ers prospects that showed up on the board.
DeForest Buckner: 49ers drafted him No. 7 overall, while the Cowboys had him at the bottom of in their Top 16.
Joshua Garnett: 49ers traded up to draft him No. 28 overall, while the Cowboys gave him a third round grade.
Ronald Blair: 49ers drafted him with the third pick of the fifth round, while the Cowboys gave him a third round grade.
Jeff Driskel: 49ers drafted him with the 32nd pick of the sixth round, while the Cowboys gave him a fourth round grade.
Kelvin Taylor: 49ers drafted him with the 36th pick of the sixth round, and the Cowboys gave him a sixth round grade.
Aaron Burbridge: 49ers drafted him with the 38th pick of the sixth round, while the Cowboys gave him a fifth round grade.
Blair was there for the Cowboys if they wanted him in the fourth round, but they grabbed defensive tackle Maliek Collins in the third round. If this list is accurate, they likely moved Blair down or off the board after they drafted Collins.
This certainly shows how there can be disparities in how two teams assess a player. Some teams are going to like a guy more, some will like him less. Joshua Garnett is among the more interesting given the 49ers move up for him. But given that this is only one draft board, we’ll likely never know if the 49ers had an inkling someone else might pounce.
Here’s the Cowboys board: