Grading our Draft 2007

[Go Cowboys]

Well the saying goes that you can't grade a draft until it has been at least 3 years after the day. So I figured why not see how we thought we did in the '07 draft. These guys have had 3 full seasons under their belts.

The Picks

1(26) Anthony Spencer, OLB, Purdue
---Spencer was named the starter at outside linebacker after veteran Greg Ellis was released. He responded by having a breakout season and being named to the 2009 Sports Illustrated All-Pro Team.

Career Stats: 137 Tackles
10.5 Sacks
1 Interception

My Thoughts: Seems to get better with time, actually had a really good season this year and looked like he knew what he was doing. If solely based on this year I would give him an A but seeing that it took 3 years I am going a bit lower.
Grade: B

3(67) James Martean, OT, Boston College
---Spent the '07 season with the team.

My Thoughts: If I remember right we were all pretty happy with the pick on Draft day, he was said to be a lot like Columbo and his heir apparent. He is now on his 3rd team in as many years.

Grade: F

4(103) Isaiah Stanback, QB/WR, Washington
--Despite playing mostly as a quarterback in college, Stanback joined the Cowboys as a wide receiver and kick returner. He was active for two games in his rookie season in 2007, but did not record any receptions. In 2008, Stanback was active for eight games, catching two passes for 24 yards in the opener against the New York Giants. He was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury on December 26, 2008. He was waived by the Cowboys on September 5, 2009, during final cuts.

My THoughts: That basically sums up his career with us right there, he had a total of 5 receptions for 46 yards in 3 years (3 of those receptions and 22 yards came with New England). Now is with New England

Grade: F

4(122) Doug Free, OT/OG, Northern Illinois
--
Doug Free played his first NFL game late into the 2007 season against the Washington Redskins, in which he gave up one sack in the 27 - 6 loss.
Doug Free didn't play in the 2008 season.
On November 15th, 2009, Marc Colombo suffered a possible season ending injury, a broken fibula on the second drive against the Green Bay Packers. Doug Free filled in the void and did not give up a sack in the 17 - 7 loss. Wade Phillips said on his press conference the next day that Doug Free "played just fine." Then stated that Free will finish out the season starting at RT.
After the April 1, 2010 release of starting left tackle Flozell Adams, Free has been penciled in as the starting left tackle for the 2010 season.

My Thoughts: I think the jury may still be out for another year on Free, he is going to get a shot at starting on the blindside of Romo this year and that is how we will be able to grade this. If we don't notice a huge dip in performance compared to Flozell I would say this grade automatically goes to an A+ but based soley on what he has done so far I think the grade is a little lower.

Grade: B+

6(17 Nick Folk, K, Arizona
--On December 30, 2007, against the Washington Redskins, he broke the Cowboys single-season record for most points by a placekicker (131). He made longest kick of his career, a 53-yard game winner against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football during his rookie season. Due to a timeout by Buffalo Bills head coach Dick Jauron, Folk's first attempt, which he made, did not count and the Cowboys had to line back up for another attempt, which he again made. That season, he was selected as the kicker for the NFC during the Pro Bowl.
Folk was waived by the Cowboys on December 21, 2009 after he missed a 24-yard field goal against the New Orleans Saints two days before. Now signed with the New York Jets.

Career Stats:
FG Made: 64
FG Attempted: 81
FG %: 79%
Career Long: 53 yards

My Thoughts: One of those guys that went form superstar one year to average the next to half a star the year after. Makes the pro bowl as a rookie then has an average season and then can't make chip shot field goals. I think you have to give a good grade on this just because of the games he won for us. Ya he missed a lot of kicks late his his career with us but he sure did well the first year.

Grade: C+

6(195) Deon Anderson, FB, Connecticut
--Not much said about him other than the Rotator Cuff injury he suffered

My Thoughts: He has done his job well for three years and has been a solid special teams contributor. For a fullback not to be replaced in a league like this for an extra position player then I take it as he is doing his job quietly and well. He isn't flashy but he gets his job done. Without the injury the grade would be higher.

Grade: B+

7(212) Courtney Brown, FS/CB, Cal Poly
--He played two seasons with the Cowboys, recording 13 tackles, before being waived during final cuts on September 5, 2009.
After spending the 2009 season out of football, Brown signed a future contract with the New York Giants on January 6, 2010.

My Thoughts: He was a 7th round pick that many liked that draft day because he had great measureables, he looked like he may have a shot to be something, he turned out to be nothing more than a project that didn't work out.

Grade: D

7(237) Alan Ball, CB/FS, Illinois
--Not much is said about him anywhere that I can find.

My Thoughts: Has been a great special teams player and spot starter, looks like the jury may be postponed on him because he is now pegged to be a starter for us. He was taken like Brown to be a project at converting him from a college corner to a NFL free safety. He has defied the odds and made the team year after year when everyone on here considered him to be nothing more than a camp body. If he plays well this year then this is an automatic A+ if he is just sub par then the grade is a C, only time will tell.

Grade: B



So if you look at all of that and take a peek at all the grades this is what you have.

B, F, F, B+, C+, B+, D, B

So if you look at it from a pick value standpoint we drafted two guys on day one, half of them turned out good. We drafted six guys on day two, 3 of them are not with the team, the jury is out on two of them and one has been a starter for two years.


Overall Grade for the 2007 NFL Draft: C to C+ If Ball and Free turn out well this easily jumps to a B to B+ range. May have to come back to this thread in a year.



Sidenote: All of the --- information is derived from various sources and was a quick summary on the overall thoughts on the player and his career.

[LonghornsLegend]

Nice to look back after 3 years, good post.


Not a bad draft, actually pretty damn solid. Our LT of the future, also Spencer is a beast and isn't this the draft where we moved back and got something extra in return and still got our man(not sure of the compensation)? I do know that people bashed us for missing Woodley but Spencer is a very complete player, great vs the run and has really began terrorizing QB's, what a force opposite Ware.


We'll see how Free does but still where we got him, we all knew he had potential, so that looks like another excellent pick.


This draft could of gotten a much higher grade had Folk continued his career how it started, one of the best kickers in the league so fast, that would of scored big points with us. Guess we should of taken Crosby after all lol.


Also we missed on some guys which is natural, but in all honestly a few of these picks were high risk/high reward with high bust probability. Stanback, Courtney Ball were both physical freaks with alot to love about them but the transition didn't pan out for either, hard to be too upset with that.


Alan Ball has been very solid in his tenure here and he gets a chance to show his worth. I'm not as worried about him as others may be, let's not forget when he filled in for Hamlin nobody even realized the drop off, so why the cause for alarm? He's obviously nothing special but the big picture is he's not worse then Hamlin, and by all accounts is a still young, improving player.



Cricket has been a stallworth here with us too, very solid, does his job, everyone loves him, good pick.



Overall looking I give this draft a solid B. We did get some good years out of Folk, and I won't blame us for him getting surgery and sucking because at one point he was kicking like the best in the league. That was far more then we hoped for, and he didn't start out as trash, something happened that was out of our hands.


So calculating:


Anthony Spencer(plus the trade back)
Doug Free(LT of the future, arguably the most important position outside of QB)
Nick Folk(when he was at his best)



The solid play from Cricket, and Alan Ball. And the only blunders were high risk guys like Brown and Stanback, and well Martaan just sucked. This isn't a bad class at all, nobody will hit on everyone of their picks, and while I remember not being a big fan of this class at the time and being very skeptical, things turned out great.



Had we graded this a year ago people would of killed this class. Free was a nobody and a huge question mark, Spencer was being called a bust by countless fans, Folk was going through major surgery, Alan Ball was nothing but a back-up and a decent ST player, and Cricket was the only solid contributor.


That's why these things take 3 years, so I think a solid B is in order. Thought about B - due to the Folk situation but it's really hard to downgrade our pick due to that. I'd take a draft with this amount of contributors every year.