The days and weeks leading to the NFL draft see a glut of draft boards or mock drafts from experts and non-experts alike, but we never really see an actual NFL draft board.
Until now.
The picture above is Dallas owner-president-general manager Jerry Jones standing in front of his team's draft board on Saturday, April 24 -- the third day of the draft. Many of the names on the board are clearly visible. You can click on the picture to enlarge it.
The Cowboys have confirmed this is their actual board. Apparently the team's in-house television department mistakenly put a video clip of Jones in front of the board up on the Internet somewhere. A loyal reader of mine in Iowa passed the picture along to me. I then confirmed its authenticity.
The picture speaks for itself, but in case you are having trouble deciphering all the names, the list of those that are legible are found below.
Here's how it works: The Cowboys graded the players on their board and put their names on computer readout tags. As players are drafted, the Cowboys replace the tag with the player's name, the team and spot where he was actually taken. The original Dallas order remains intact.
So Sam Bradford was the top-rated player by the Cowboys and he was selected by the Rams No. 1. In that the two teams agree.
But, for example, the Cowboys had Gerald McCoy rated ahead of Ndamakong Suh. So McCoy remains at No. 2 on their board while Suh is No. 3. The team simply removed McCoy's tag when he came off the board and added the team selecting him and the actual spot he was picked.
So why is this interesting to you?
Well, it is interesting to me the Cowboys had Dolphins first round pick Jared Odrick rated No. 15 on their board. The Dolphins got him with the No. 28 overall selection. So according to the Cowboys' grade, the Dolphins got a bargain.
Same thing with Koa Misi, who the Cowboys rated No. 35 overall, but the Dolphins got with the No. 40 overall selection.
It works the other way also, by the way. The Dolphins drafted guard John Jerry in the third round with the 73rd overall selection. The Cowboys had a fourth-round grade on Jerry -- 110th overall. So according to the Cowboys' grades, the Dolphins reached on Jerry.
The teams more or less agreed on a fifth-round grade for safety Reshad Jones.
Obviously this is all opinion. Not every team is going to agree on the grades and worth of players. One assumes the Dolphins don't believe they reached for Jerry.
Anyway, take a look at the Cowboys player rankings below. The round, overall selection and team that actually selected each player is in parenthesis. Some names were illegible. I could not find A.J. Edds and other Dolphins picks on the board. Perhaps you can.
Round 1
1. Sam Bradford (1st round, No. 1 overall, St. Louis)
2. Gerald McCoy (1st, No. 3, Tampa Bay)
3. Ndamakong Suh (1st, No. 2, Detroit)
4. Russell Okung (1st, No. 6, Seattle)
5. Trent Williams (1st, No. 4, Wash.)
6. Eric Berry (1st, No. 5, KC)
7. Rolando McClain (1st, No. 8, Oak.)
8. Joe Haden (1st, No. 7, Cleve.)
9. CJ Spiller (1st, No. 9, Buff.)
10. Mike Iupati (1st, No. 17, S.F.)
11. Dez Bryant (1st, No. 24, Dallas)
12. Earl Thomas (1st, No. 14, Seattle)
13. Bryan Bulaga (1st, No. 23, GB)
14. Sean Lee (2nd round, No. 55, Dallas)
15. Jared Odrick (1st, No. 28, Miami)
16. Jason Pierre-Paul (1st, No. 15, NYG)
17. Derrick Morgan (1st, No. 16, Tenn.)
18. Kyle Wilson (1st, No. 29, NYJ)
19. Maurkice Pouncey (1st, No. 18, Pitt.)
20. Navorro Bowman (3rd, No. 91, S.F.)
21. Jahvid Best (1st, No. 30, Det.)
22. Tyson Alualu (1st, No. 10, Jax.)
23. Jermaine Greham (1st, No. 21, Cincy)
Round 2
1. Devin McCourty (1st, No. 27, N.E.)
2. Demaryius Thomas (1st, No. 22, Den.)
3. Koa Misi (2nd, No. 40, Miami)
4. Jerry Hughes (1st, No. 31, Indy)
5. Brandon Graham (1st, No. 13, Phila.)
6. Nate Allen (2nd, No. 37, Phila.)
7. Morgan Burnett (3rd, No. 71, G.B)
8. Taylor Mays (2nd, No. 49, S.F.)
9. (covered name)
10. Dan Williams (1st, No. 26, Ariz.)
11. Kareem Jackson (1st, No. 20, Hou.)
12. Ryan Matthews (1st, No. 12, S.D.)
13. Brian Price (2nd, No. 35, TB)
14. Rob Gronkowski (2nd, No. 42, NE)
15. Brandon Ghee (3rd, No. 96, Cincy)
16. Jimmy Clausen (2nd, No. 48, Car.)
Round 3
1. Sergio Kindle (2nd, No. 43, Balt.)
2. Anthony Davis (1st, No. 11, S.F.)
3. Corey Wooton (4th, No. 109, Chic.)
4. Patrick Robinson (1st, No. 32, N.O.)
5. Dexter McCluster (2nd, No. 36, K.C.)
6. Joe McKnight (4th, No. 112, NYJ)
7. (covered name)
8. - Chad Jones (3rd, No. 76, NYG)
9. - illegible
10. Colt McCoy (3rd, No. 85, Cleve.)
11. Taylor Price (3rd, No. 90, N.E.)
12. Lamarr Houston (2nd, No. 44, Oak.)
13. D’Anthony Smith (3rd, No. 74, Jax.)
14. Damian Williams (3rd, No. 77, Tenn.)
15. Eric Decker (3rd, No. 87, Den.)
16. Thaddeus Gibson (4th, No. 116, Pitt.)
17. Corey Peters (3rd, No. 83, Atl.)
18. Rodger Saffold (2nd, No. 33, StL.)
19. Toby Gerhardt (2nd, No. 51, Minn.)
20. Golden Tate (2nd, No. 60, Sea.)
21. Brandon LeFell (3rd, No. 78, Car.)
22. Amari Spievey (3rd, No. 66, Det.)
23. Mike Neal (2nd, No. 56, G.B.)
Round 4
1. Akwasi Owusu-Ansah (4th, 126th, Dall.)
2. Javier Arenas (2nd, 50th, K.C.)
3. Vladimir Ducasse (2nd, 61, NYJ)
4. Ed Dickson (3rd, 70, Balt.)
5. Tag illegible
6. Clay Harbor (4th, 125, Phila.)
7. Perry Riley (4th, 103, Wash.)
8. (plate removed)
9. Torell Troup (2nd, 41, Buff.)
10. Carlton Mitchell (6th, 177, Cleve.)
11. Mike Johnson (3rd, 98, Atl.)
12. John Jerry (3rd, 73, Miami)
13. Linval Joseph (2nd, 46, NYG)
14. Major Wright (3rd, 75, Chic.)
15. Dominique Franks (5th, 135, Atl.)
16. Larry Asante (5th, 160, Cleve.)
17. Tony Moeaki (3rd, 93, K.C.)
18. Mitch Petrus (5th, 144th, NYG)
19. Ben Tate (2nd, 58, Hou.)
20. Kam Chancellor (5th, 133, Sea.)
21. Andre Roberts (3rd, 88, Ariz.)
22. Myron Lewis (3rd, 67, TB)
23. Tag illegible
Round 5
1. Shawn Lauvao (3rd, 92, Cleve.)
2. Jacoby Ford (4th, 108, Oak.)
3. Danny Batten (6th, 192, Buff.)
4. Sam Young (6th, 179, Dall.)
5. Daniel Te'o-Nesheim (3rd, 86, Phil.)
6. Kevin Thomas (3rd, 94, Indy)
7. Tag illegible
8. Dennis Pitta (4th, 114, Balt.)
9. Darrell Stuckey (4th, 110, San Diego)
10. Alterraun Verner (4th, 104, Tenn.)
11. Alric Arnett (undrafted)
12. Tag illegible
13. Garrett Graham (4th, 118, Hou.)
14. Reshad Jones (5th, 163, Miami)
15. Tag illegible
16. Tag illegible
17. Tag illegible
18. Tag illegible
Round 6
1. Jared Veldheer (3rd, 69th, Oak.)
2. Tag illegible
3. Tag illegible
4. Tag illegible
5. Tag illegible
6. Tag illegible
7. Tag illegible
8. Tag illegible
9. Tag illegible
Round 7
1. Walter Thurmond (4th, 111, Sea.)
2. Marcus Easley (4th, 107, Buff.)
3. Mike Kafka (4th, 122, Phila.)
4. Tag illegible
5. Tag illegible
6. Tag illegible
7. Tag illegible
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