On February 25, 1989 it was announced that oil and gas businessman Jerry Jones from Little Rock, Arkansas was going to be the next owner of the Dallas Cowboys. Jones had always wanted to own an NFL team and he dedicated his entire fortune to the purchase, taking control of the Cowboys and Texas Stadium for an NFL franchise record $140 million at the time. As part of the deal made with H. R. "Bum" Bright, Jones was to fire the legendary Tom Landry, the only head coach the Dallas Cowboys franchise had known. Jerry hired his old college teammate from his playing days at Arkansas, Jimmy Johnson, who was then building a dynasty at the University of Miami. This duo was laughed at and made fun of at first, but they would eventually build one of the dominant teams in the 90s, winning back to back super bowls. They won Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII. They did this by building their dynasty through the draft and by making very smart free agent signings, not just spending money to spend it. Super Bowl XXX was also won using most of these same players Jerry and Jimmy drafted together.

To see the team needs of the Cowboys for the 2014 season check out my article, 2014 Team Needs: Dallas Cowboys.

In this article I analyze how successful Jerry Jones has been at drafting players with each of his head coaches since 1989. Most of the opinions of Jones' drafting skills is that they are not very good and that he should not have anything to do with the draft. I on the other hand believe that he has learned from some of the best drafters in the NFL in Jimmy Johnson and Bill Parcells. I believe that he has done pretty well in the 2000s.

My main focus was on how many of his draft picks became pro bowlers. In the last draft or two I focused more on how many of the draft picks were contributors because there are just not that many rookie pro bowlers each year.

Jerry and Jimmy

Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson put together some of the best drafts in the history of the Dallas Cowboys and 1989 was probably the best draft of them all. Over five drafts these two hauled in two hall of famers, 11 pro bowlers, and 13 players that played prominent roles for the franchise throughout the 90s and into the 2000s.

1989 Draft

Troy Aikman, hall of famer and elected to 6 pro bowls
Steve Wisnewski, immediately traded to the Raiders, elected to 8 pro bowls
Daryl Johnston, elected to 2 pro bowls as a fullback
Mark Stepnoski, elected to 5 pro bowls
Tony Tolbert, elected to 1 pro bowl
They also drafted 10 other players that never did much of anything in the NFL

1990 Draft

Emmitt Smith, hall of famer and elected to 8 pro bowls
Alexander Wright, better kick returner than receiver, played 7 seasons in NFL
Jimmie Jones, played 4 seasons for Cowboys, helped them win 2 Super Bowls
Kenny Gant, "The Shark", played 5 seasons with Cowboys, helped win 2 Super Bowls

1991 Draft

Russell Maryland, 1st pick of the draft, elected to 1 pro bowl, helped Cowboys win 3 super bowls
Alvin Harper, played 4 seasons with Cowboys, helped team win 2 super bowls
Dixon Edwards, played 5 seasons with Cowboys, won 3 super bowls
Godfrey Myles, played 6 seasons with Cowboys, won 3 super bowls
Erik Williams, 4 time pro bowl selection, won 3 super bowls
Leon Lett, 2 time pro bowl selection, 3 time super bowl winner
Larry Brown, Super Bowl XXX MVP, 3 time super bowl winner
They also drafted 11 other players that never did much of anything

1992 Draft

Kevin Smith, played 9 seasons in NFL, career cut short by torn Achilles Tendon, won 3 super bowls
Robert Jones, 10 seasons in NFL, 1992 NFL Rookie of Year, won 3 super bowls
Jimmy Smith, 5 time pro bowl selection with Jacksonville, injured most of time while with Cowboys
Darren Woodson, played 13 seasons with Dallas, 5 time pro bowl selection, won 3 super bowls
Clayton Holmes, played 4 seasons with Cowboys, won 3 super bowls, special teams leader
They also drafted 10 other players that never did much of anything

1993 Draft

Kevin Williams, played 4 seasons with Cowboys, won 2 super bowls, very good return man
Darrin Smith, 4 seasons with Cowboys, won 2 super bowls, started all four years
Derrick Lassic, played 2 seasons with Cowboys, won 1 super bowl, Emmitt's backup
Ron Stone, 3 time pro bowl selection, 2 super bowl wins, was a backup while with the Cowboys
Brock Marion, 3 time pro bowl selection, 2 super bowl wins,
Dave Thomas, played 2 seasons with Cowboys, drafted by Jacksonville in expansion draft, won 2 super bowl
They also drafted 3 more players that never did much of anything

Jerry and Barry Switzer

Jerry teamed with Barry Switzer for three drafts and to say the least they did not have the same success as Jimmy and Jerry. They did draft one hall of famer, no other pro bowlers, and nine players that either started or got considerable playing time.

1994 Draft

Shante Carver, 4 seasons with Cowboys, won 1 super bowl
Larry Allen, hall of famer, 11 time pro bowl selection, won 1 super bowl
George Hegamin, 4 seasons with Cowboys, mostly as a backup, won 1 super bowl
Drafted 4 other players that never did much of anything

1995 Draft

Eric Bjornson, played 5 seasons with Cowboys as a part time starter, member of Super Bowl XXX team
Drafted 9 other players that never did much of anything

1996 Draft

Randall Godfrey, played 4 seasons with Cowboys, never missing a game
Drafted 8 other players that never did much of anything

1997 Draft

Dexter Coakley, selected to three pro bowls, played eight seasons with Cowboys
Drafted 8 other players that never did much of anything

Jerry and Chan Gailey

Gailey and Jones teamed up for two seasons, drafting three pro bowlers in their two drafts together.

1998 Draft

Greg Ellis, selected to one pro bowl, played 11 seasons with the Cowboys
Flozell Adams, five time pro bowl selection, played 12 seasons with Cowboys
Drafted 7 other players that never did much of anything

1999 Draft

Ebeneezer Ekuban, played five seasons with Cowboys
Solomon Page, played four seasons with Cowboys
Dat Nguyen, pro bowl alternate one season, led team in tackles three seasons

Jerry and Dave Campo

Jerry and Dave Campo teamed up for three seasons and three drafts. The Cowboys drafted two pro bowlers during this time.

2000 Draft

Mario Edwards, played 4 seasons with the Cowboys, started three of those seasons at cornerback
Drafted four other players, but none of them did anything worth mentioning.

2001 Draft

Quincy Carter, started two seasons for the Cowboys, leading them to a 10-6 record and a trip to the playoffs
Tony Dixon, played four seasons for the Cowboys, was a good special teams player and played in nickel situations mostly

2002 Draft

Roy Williams, elected to five pro bowls, played seven seasons for the Cowboys
Andre Gurode, elected to five pro bowls, played nine seasons for the Cowboys
Antonio Bryant, played three seasons for the Cowboys, 11 seasons overall.

Jerry and Bill Parcells

This duo teamed up in 2003 and worked together for four seasons and four drafts. They drafted six pro bowlers during this time.

2003 Draft

Terence Newman, elected to two pro bowls, played nine seasons for the Cowboys
Jason Witten, elected to nine pro bowls, played 11 seasons so far for the Cowboys and still going strong
Bradie James, played nine seasons for the Cowboys, led the team in tackles for six consecutive seasons

2004 Draft

Julius Jones, played 4 seasons for the Cowboys, 7 seasons total
Patrick Crayton, played 6 seasons for the Cowboys, was a 2nd team all pro selection in 2009

2005 Draft

DeMarcus Ware, selected to 7 pro bowls so far, Cowboys all time sack leader, 2 time NFL sack leader
Marion Barber III, elected to 2007 pro bowl, played six seasons with the Cowboys
Jay Ratliff, elected to four pro bowls, played nine seasons for the Cowboys
Marcus Spears, played 8 seasons for the Cowboys
Chris Canty, played four seasons for the Cowboys, won a super bowl with the Giants, still active

2006 Draft

Jason Hatcher, elected to the 2013 pro bowl, played eight seasons with the Cowboys, he is still active

Jerry and Wade Phillips

This duo drafted four pro bowlers over the course of four years.

2007 Draft

Anthony Spencer, elected to 2012 pro bowl, played seven seasons for the Cowboys, still active
Nick Folk, elected to 2007 pro bowl, played three seasons with the Cowboys
Doug Free, has played seven seasons so far with the Cowboys

2008 Draft

Mike Jenkins, elected to 2009 pro bowl, played five seasons with Cowboys, still active
Felix Jones, played five seasons for Cowboys, still active
Martellus Bennett, played four seasons for Cowboys, still active
Orlando Scandrick, has played six seasons for the Cowboys so far, still on the team

2009 Draft

Drafted 12 players, none of them have accomplished much of anything

2010 Draft

Dez Bryant, elected to 2013 pro bowl, leading receiver on the team
Sean Lee, if he could remain healthy he is a pro bowler, leader of defense

Jerry and Jason Garrett

So far these two have teamed up for three drafts so far, drafted two pro bowlers and twelve players that have made contributions to the team.

2011 Draft

Tyron Smith, pro bowl player, starter at left tackle
DeMarco Murray, pro bowl player, one of the best running backs in the NFL
Bruce Carter, starting linebacker
Dwayne Harrris, three time NFC Special Teams Player of the Week

2012 Draft

Morris Claiborne, injury problems, reserve corner
Tyrone Crawford, made the team, but injured
Kyle Wilbur, solid contributor in 2013
Matt Johnson, made team, but injured
James Hanna, contributor and still on the team

2013 Draft

Travis Frederick, starting center
Gavin Escobar, contributor at TE
Terrance Williams, contributor, future starter at WR
J. J. Wilcox, contributor and part time starter
DeVonte Holloman, contributor on special teams and defense

Who did Jerry work best with?

Jimmy Johnson, 21% of their players drafted made pro bowls.
Bill Parcells, 19% of their players drafted made pro bowls.
Wade Phillips, 13% of their players drafted made pro bowls.
Chan Gailey, 12% of their players drafted made pro bowls.
Jason Garrett, 11% of their players drafted so far have made pro bowls.
Dave Campo, 1% of their players drafted made pro bowls.
Barry Switzer, 1% of their players drafted made pro bowls.

Analyzing Jerry Jones’ Cowboys Draft History