The Dallas Cowboys are sometimes viewed as an underachieving modern franchise, but their track record with first-round picks in the NFL Draft has always been very solid — from the current era all the way back to the franchise’s inception. Here’s a look at that full history, spanning up to the Mazi Smith selection this past April.

Dallas Cowboys First-Round Draft Picks Throughout History

The Cowboys haven’t been without their first-round misses, but the team’s history is quietly one of the strongest in the league. In the modern era, selections like Dez Bryant, Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons highlights the team’s ability to pinpoint top talent. Further back, the team’s success is even greater.

Before the turn of the century, Dallas drafted six Hall of Famers in Round 1. From 1988 to 1990, they selected three consecutive Hall of Fame players in wide receiver Michael Irvin, quarterback Troy Aikman, and running back Emmitt Smith — all of whom would help form the Cowboys’ dynasty of the 1990s.

In the 2023 Hall of Fame class, Cowboys’ 2005 first-round pick DeMarcus Ware became the team’s seventh Round 1 selection to don a golden jacket.

2023

• Mazi Smith | Pick 26
  DT, Michigan

2022

• Tyler Smith | Pick 24
  OT, Tulsa

2021

• Micah Parsons | Pick 12
  LB, Penn State

2020

• CeeDee Lamb | Pick 17
  WR, Oklahoma

2019

The Cowboys traded the 27th pick to the Oakland Raiders.

2018

• Leighton Vander Esch | Pick 19
  OLB, Boise State

2017

• Taco Charlton | Pick 28
  DE, Michigan

2016

• Ezekiel Elliott | Pick 4
  RB, Ohio State

2015

• Byron Jones | Pick 27
  CB, Connecticut

2014

• Zack Martin | Pick 16
  G, Notre Dame

2013

• Travis Frederick | Pick 31
  C, Wisconsin

2012

• Morris Claiborne | Pick 6
  DB, LSU

2011

• Tyron Smith | Pick 9
  OT, USC

2010

• Dez Bryant | Pick 24
  WR, Oklahoma State

2009

The Cowboys traded the 20th pick to the Detroit Lions.

2008

• Felix Jones | Pick 22
  RB, Arkansas
• Mike Jenkins | Pick 25
  DB, South Florida

2007

• Anthony Spencer | Pick 26
  DE, Purdue

2006

• Bobby Carpenter | Pick 18
  LB, Ohio State

2005

• DeMarcus Ware* | Pick 11
  LB, Troy
• Marcus Spears | Pick 20
  DE, LSU

2004

The Cowboys traded the 22nd pick to the Buffalo Bills.

2003

• Terence Newman | Pick 5
  DB, Kansas State

2002

• Roy Williams | Pick 8
  DB, Oklahoma

2001

The Cowboys traded the seventh pick to the Seattle Seahawks.

2000

The Cowboys traded the 19th pick to the Seattle Seahawks.

1999

• Ebenezer Ekuban | Pick 20
  DE, North Carolina

1998

• Greg Ellis | Pick 8
  DE, North Carolina

1997

• David LaFleur | Pick 22
  TE, LSU

1996

The Cowboys traded the 30th pick to Washington.

1995

The Cowboys traded the 28th pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

1994

• Shante Carver | Pick 23
  DE, Arizona State

1993

The Cowboys traded the 29th pick to the Green Bay Packers.

1992

• Kevin Smith | Pick 17
  DB, Texas A&M
• Robert Jones | Pick 24
  LB, East Carolina

1991

• Russell Maryland | Pick 1
  DT, Miami (FL)
• Alvin Harper | Pick 12
  WR, Tennessee
• Kelvin Pritchett | Pick 20
  DT, Mississippi

1990

• Emmitt Smith*| Pick 17
  RB, Florida

1989

• Troy Aikman* | Pick 1
  QB, UCLA

1988

• Michael Irvin* | Pick 11
  WR, Miami (FL)

1987

• Danny Noonan | Pick 12
  DT, Nebraska

1986

• Mike Sherrard | Pick 18
  WR, UCLA

1985

• Kevin Brooks | Pick 17
  DT, Michigan

1984

• Billy Cannon | Pick 25
  LB, Texas A&M

1983

• Jim Jeffcoat | Pick 23
  DE, Arizona State

1982

• Rod Hill | Pick 25
  DB, Kentucky State

1981

• Howard Richards | Pick 26
  G, Missouri

1980

The Cowboys traded the 24th pick to the Baltimore Colts.

1979

• Robert Shaw | Pick 27
  C, Tennessee

1978

• Larry Bethea | Pick 28
  DT, Michigan State

1977

• Tony Dorsett* | Pick 2
  RB, Pittsburgh

1976

• Aaron Kyle | Pick 27
  DB, Wyoming

1975

• Randy White* | Pick 2
  DT, Maryland
• Thomas Henderson | Pick 18
  LB, Langston

1974

• Too Tall Jones | Pick 1
  DE, Tennessee State
• Charley Young | Pick 22
  RB, North Carolina State

1973

• Billy Joe DuPree | Pick 20
  TE, Michigan State

1972

• Bill Thomas | Pick 26
  RB, Boston College

1971

• Tody Smith | Pick 25
  DE, USC

1970

• Duane Thomas | Pick 23
  RB, West Texas A&M

1969

• Calvin Hill | Pick 24
  RB, Yale

1968

• Dennis Homan | Pick 20
  WR, Alabama

1967

The Cowboys sent their selection to the Houston Oilers in exchange for the rights of Ralph Neely in 1965.

1966

• John Niland | Pick 5
  G, Iowa

1965

• Craig Morton | Pick 5
  QB, California

1964

• Scott Appleton | Pick 4
  DT, Texas

1963

• Lee Roy Jordan | Pick 6
  LB, Alabama

1962

The Cowboys traded the fourth pick to the Cleveland Browns.

1961

• Bob Lilly* | Pick 13
  DT, TCU

*Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame