The Dallas Cowboys are known for shying away from elite-caliber players in free agency, but they’ve often made up for it with a keen eye for talent in the NFL Draft.
Dallas has created a legacy of finding homegrown stars in the first round, from Bob Lilly, their first-ever first-round selection, and more recently All-Pro players Tyler Smith, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons.
Every franchise, no matter how great, will stumble and completely misfire on a draft pick — but few misses are worse than the Cowboys’ biggest draft bust of all time.
SI’s Matt Verderame revealed the biggest NFL draft bust for each team , and for the Cowboys, it was Bill Thomas — a player who failed to record a single stat in seven games played for the team.
“The 1970s Cowboys did almost everything right, but selecting Thomas wasn’t one of them,” he wrote.
“Thomas played only seven games for the Cowboys as a rookie before playing one season apiece with the Houston Oilers and Kansas City Chiefs. By the time his career was over, he racked up just 36 rushing yards.”
There’s a case to be made that this is arguably the biggest draft bust of all time, despite Thomas being selected No. 26 overall.
There isn’t the same expectation for greatness from a late first-round pick as there is for someone taken in the top 10; however, there is still an expectation that the player will at least contribute in some way.
