After the NFL draft, several web sites posted images of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones standing in front of a marker board that listed the names of dozens of players, in what looked like a case of Jones giving so much access to the team’s war room that he revealed the Cowboys’ draft board.
Now Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald is reporting that the Cowboys have confirmed this is their actual board. According to Salguero, someone who works for the team mistakenly posted a video of Jones in front of the board online.
By the time anyone noticed the draft was over, so this didn’t give any opposing teams any competitive advantages. And although you can see the rankings of about 100 players, you can’t make out the full draft board.
Still, it’s interesting to see, for instance, that the Cowboys had wide receiver Dez Bryant (whom drafted 24th overall) ranked as the 11th best player in the draft. And that the Cowboys got what they must consider an absolute steal in the second round, because they also had linebacker Sean Lee (whom they drafted 55th overall) ranked as the 14th best player in the draft.
As for players drafted by other teams, most people think Tyson Alualu was a reach for the Jaguars with the 10th overall pick, but the Cowboys had a first-round grade on Alualu, too: Dallas had him ranked 22nd. And the Cowboys think 49ers first-round pick Anthony Davis was a major reach: San Francisco took Davis 11th overall, but the Cowboys gave Davis a third-round grade.
Finally, Jerry Jones famously said that there was no reason to draft Tim Tebow because he wouldn’t get on the field. Jones apparently wasn’t bluffing; Tebow’s name can’t be seen on the Cowboys’ draft board.
