Day 3 of the NFL Draft is where teams want to end their offseason. These are not people you can expect to contribute right away, if at all. But when they accomplish it, it feels like a huge victory. Thankfully, the Dallas Cowboys have had some success over the past decade.
There were some third-day discoveries that didn't make this list. Guys like Jeff Swaim, Damian Wilson, Cedric Wilson, Xavier Woods, Kayvon Frazier, Noah Brown. Most of them were drafted late in the round and played in far more games than expected, some even starting. Woods started the three years at safety, with mixed results, but still a useful return for a sixth-rounder.
So, beyond these honorable mentions, who are the Dallas Cowboys' 10 best Day 3 products since 2014?
10. DE Dorrance Armstrong (2018 4th round)
Armstrong never moved away from the backup role, but was a consistent contributor to the Cowboys' pass rush rotation. He is in his sixth year with the team and has recorded 21 sacks over the last few years, especially since 2021. That surge coincided with Dan Quinn's arrival in Dallas as defensive coordinator. Not surprisingly, Quinn made Armstrong one of the first free agent signings to join the Washington Commanders this offseason.
9. CB Anthony Brown (2016 6th round)
Between injuries to Orlando Scandrick and Morris Claiborne, Brown started nine games as a rookie and quickly showed his worth on the depth chart. He would start 60 more games for Dallas from 2017-2022, and while his play wasn't great, he was good enough to help the Cowboys win a lot of games. had. He earned a three-year extension on his rookie contract and played a valuable role for seven seasons.
8. LB Anthony Hitchens (2014 4th round)
Like Brown, Hitchens was forced to start as a rookie due to injuries to linebacker Sean Lee and others. He started 11 games and took plenty of snaps in others, playing a variety of positions throughout the scheme and showing little sign of inexperience. Hitchens moved into a full-time starter role for his final two years, but Dallas moved him in 2018 with Lee still hanging around and Jaylon Smith ready to break out. became a free agent.
7. TE Dalton Schultz (2018 4th round)
Speaking of big jobs, Schultz was among the players who tried to fill in for Jason Witten in 2018. He started seven games but only had 12 catches and was used primarily as a blocker as the team relied heavily on Ezekiel Elliott and his players. Wide receiver. When Witten returned to the Cowboys in 2019, Schultz was forced to third string and hit just two runs the entire season.
Schultz began 2020 as a backup to Blake Jarwin, but Jarwin's injury in Week 1 opened the door for him to become the starter again. Despite Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, and Michael Gallup competing for targets, Schultz finally broke out, making 63 catches. He peaked in 2021 with 78 catches, 808 yards and eight touchdowns, earning the franchise tag from Dallas and returning for a fifth season.
The Cowboys didn't give Schultz a new contract after that franchise year and had options in front of them with Jake Ferguson and a likely TE-rich draft class. Schultz always felt more like a beneficiary than a catalyst for Dallas' high-volume offense, but he certainly played his part and was more than adequate where he was drafted.
6. C Tyler Biadasch (2020 4th round)
Biadas always suffered from unrealistic expectations from many people. Biadasz, who was drafted a month after Travis Frederick announced his untimely retirement, had a big job to do, and it didn't help that both he and Frederick played at Wisconsin. The idea that he would replace Frederick, a former first-rounder, outright was never fair.
Still, Biadas did more than enough for a fourth-round pick. He started in a reserve role, but due to an injury to Joe Rooney, he had to start four games as a rookie. Although he might have remained in the role had he not been injured himself, Biadasz became a full-time starter in his second season. He made the Pro Bowl in 2022.
In a typical Cowboys offseason, Biadasz likely would have received a second contract. However, the team cleared him to head to Washington last March. The fresh start comes as Dallas appears to be moving toward rebuilding its franchise.
5. TE Jake Ferguson (2022 4th round)
Is it too early to put Ferguson this high? Probably, but in just two years, he's already made the Pro Bowl and is the Cowboys' best playmaker at tight end since Witten. Stable as a receiver and dangerous as a runner after the catch, Ferguson is one of the most exciting young tight ends in football.
As mentioned earlier, Ferguson showed plenty of potential as a rookie, so there wasn't much concern about Schultz leaving in free agency in 2023. The Cowboys hedged their bets by drafting Luke Schoonmaker in the second round last year, but now regret it as Ferguson is likely to remain the starter for years to come. There may be.
Of course, we don't know what the future holds. We've seen great moments never translate into lasting success. But at his current pace, Ferguson is in position to become a key piece and leader of the Cowboys' offense just ahead of his third season.
4. S Donovan Wilson (2019 6th round)
After just six rounds, Wilson has emerged as a playmaker in his second year with two interceptions, three forced fumbles and 3.5 sacks. With the additions of Malik Hooker and Jaylon Kearse in 2021, Wilson becomes part of a three-man safety rotation. After missing seven games that year due to injury, Wilson re-established himself in 2022 with over 100 tackles, five sacks and three forced turnovers.
The Cowboys re-signed Wilson to a three-year contract last year. He hasn't broken out on a league-wide scale yet, but he's more than established himself in Dallas after years of below-average play at safety. Wilson has been one of the team's most valuable players for years.
3. RB Tony Pollard (2019 4th round)
One of the big debates about Pollard is whether being Ezekiel Elliott's backup from 2019 to 2022 held him back or helped him grow. But even though he was No. 2, Pollard totaled 2,434 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2021-2022. It was enough for Dallas to release Elliott last year and use Pollard's franchise tag to keep him as the starter.
Unfortunately, Pollard's recovery from a season-ending foot fracture lasted until 2023. He never looked good, but he improved throughout the season. He totaled 1,316 yards as a starter, but had to work harder for the team, so Dallas opted to move on this offseason rather than pay the 27-year-old running back. I made a decision.
2. CB Daron Brand (2022 5th round)
It didn't matter that he only played two seasons when he broke the NFL record for pick-sixes and finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Brand did what seemed impossible last year, stepping in for the injured Trevon Diggs and becoming a star in his own right.
Indeed, both Brand and Diggs will have to show that their interception tendencies are due to their own skill rather than Dan Quinn's scheme. But even with fewer turnovers under Mike Zimmer, Brand showed last year that he can hold up well in outside coverage. The Cowboys have no intention of re-signing veteran Stephon Gilmore, so he will likely start there again this season.
Brands would have won with the pick in any round. Achieving his sensational play with just a fifth-round pick is insane, especially at a position where players need time to develop. Even if he somehow falls apart from here, Brand has already given the Cowboys more than they expected.
1. QB Dak Prescott (2016 4th round)
Have you ever had any doubts? Prescott isn't just Dallas' best Day 3 pick of the past decade, but you have to go back as far as the Roger Staubach, Bob Hayes, and George Andree eras to find a player with this much impact. You would have to go back 60 years. About the Cowboys. Taking a franchise QB in the later rounds is about as good as it can get.
The most remarkable part of Prescott's journey is how it began. He reportedly struggled in training camp with undrafted prospect Jameil Showers for the third string spot. But once the preseason started, Prescott started putting on a show. Before Tony Romo got injured, just over two weeks before the start of the regular season, the hype was already starting to build. Backup Kellen Moore was also injured, and Prescott was trying to become the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.
No one expected what he would do next. In addition to his own numbers, Prescott put together one of the best rookie QB seasons in NFL history, contributing to the Cowboys' 13-3 record. He played well in the team's playoff loss to Green Bay, and outperformed Romo in most of their postseason appearances.
We can argue all day about Prescott's status among the NFL's elite QBs and Cowboys all-timers. But the fact that it even made it into the conversation speaks to what an incredible find the former fourth-round pick was. Regardless of what he does or doesn't accomplish before it's all over, Prescott is a draft success story for the ages.
