List of Dallas Cowboys first-round draft picks

Head shot of Troy Aikman.
The Cowboys drafted quarterback Troy Aikman first overall in the 1989 NFL draft. Aikman spent his entire 12-year career with Dallas and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.[1][2]

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference East Division.[3] The Cowboys joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1960 and have played their home games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, since 2009.[4][5]

The NFL draft, officially known as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting",[6][7][8] is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment.[9] The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings; the teams with the worst win–loss records receive the earliest picks. Teams that qualified for the NFL playoffs select after non-qualifiers, and their order depends on how far they advanced, using their regular season record as a tie-breaker. The final two selections in the first round are reserved for the Super Bowl runner-up and champion. Draft picks are tradable and players or other picks can be acquired with them.[10]

Since the team's first draft, the Cowboys have selected 60 players in the first round.[11] The team's first pick in their inaugural NFL draft was Bob Lilly, a defensive tackle from Texas Christian University; he was the 13th overall selection.[4][12] The Cowboys have drafted first overall three times, selecting Ed "Too Tall" Jones in 1974, Troy Aikman in 1989, and Russell Maryland in 1991.[11] In the most recent draft, held in 2024, the Cowboys selected Oklahoma tackle Tyler Guyton.[13]

The Cowboys did not draft a player in the first round on eleven occasions.[11] Seven of the team's first-round picks—Troy Aikman, Tony Dorsett, Michael Irvin, Bob Lilly, Emmitt Smith, DeMarcus Ware, and Randy White—have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[14] One of the team's first-round picks—Scott Appleton—chose to sign with the NFL's pre-merger direct competitor, the American Football League (AFL), instead.[15][16]

  1. ^ "Troy Aikman". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  2. ^ "Six named to Hall's Class of 2006!". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  3. ^ Astbury, Matt (April 10, 2023). "How many teams are in the NFL? Who plays in which division?". DAZN. Archived from the original on June 28, 2024. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Team Facts". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on December 11, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  5. ^ Brandt, Gil (May 28, 2009). "Cowboys' new $1.25 billion stadium is quite a sight to behold". National Football League. Archived from the original on February 12, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  6. ^ "NFL Draft Profile – NFL Draft". ESPN. Archived from the original on December 17, 2023. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  7. ^ Farmer, Sam (April 26, 2008). "What makes them tick". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 7, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  8. ^ Reuter, Chad (April 13, 2012). "Who will be the best pro RB? Martin vs. Miller vs. Wilson". National Football League. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  9. ^ "NFL 2021 Draft date: when and where is it taking place?". Diario AS. February 18, 2021. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  10. ^ "The rules of the NFL Draft". National Football League. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  11. ^ a b c "Dallas Cowboys All-Time Draft History". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  12. ^ "1961 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 14, 2024. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  13. ^ Russo, Ralph D. (April 26, 2024). "2024 NFL Draft: List of first round picks". AP News. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  14. ^ "Hall of Famers by Draft Round". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  15. ^ Astbury, Matt (April 12, 2023). "Why are there divisions and conferences in the NFL? How do they work?". DAZN. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  16. ^ "Oilers Sign Appleton to $104,000 Pact". The New York Times. February 2, 1964. p. 0. Archived from the original on January 22, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024.