The first NFL draft that the Dallas Cowboys participated in was in 1961, when they selected DT Bob Lilly with the 13th overall pick. This was their second first-round selection, after trading the second overall pick to the Washington Redskins for QB Eddie LeBaron. Lilly had a great career and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.

The rest of the early 1960's saw little success on the draft table for first rounders, even though the Cowboys had early picks. In the late 60's and early 70's, moderate success during the season meant they picked late.

In 1974, the Cowboys made a blockbuster deal with the Houston Oilers, sending Tody Smith, Billy Parks for the first overall pick as well as a third round pick. The Cowboys used the first pick to select 6'9" Ed "Too Tall" Jones, a defensive end from Tennessee State (they also used the third round pick to select Danny White. Jones ended up suiting for a total of 15 seasons for the Cowboys, and is the only Cowboy to be a teammate for both Bob Lilly and Troy Aikman.

In 1975, the Cowboys had two first round picks, selecting future Hall of Famer Randy White, a linebacker from Maryland with the second pick overall, and "Hollywood" Henderson, also a linebacker, from Langston with the 18th overall pick.

1977 saw another successful second overall pick, this time the great Tony Dorsett, a Heisman Trophy Winner running back from Pittsburgh.

For the next decade, the Cowboys picked late or in the middle of the first round. Then, in the span of three years, they picked three consecutive Hall of Famers in the first round. In 1988, they selected Michael Irvin, a wide receiver from Miami. In 1989 they selected perhaps the most famous Cowboy of all, quarterback Troy Aikman from UCLA. In 1990, the team once again had two first round picks. With the first overall selection, they picked defensive tackle Russell Maryland from Miami. They also had the 17th pick, with which they selected Emmitt Smith, they great running back from Florida.

After this period of success, the Cowboys did not develop well through the draft, at least not with their first rounders. They traded away their first round picks in 1993, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, and 2004.http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/news.cfm?id=F979DBDA-E6DC-62DE-0692F849C18A9EA9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dallas_Cowboys_first-round_draft_picks#cite_note-Hall_of_Famer_note-2

• Round 1 (24) - WR - Dez Bryan, Oklahoma State
• Round 2 (55) - LB - Sean Lee, Penn State
• Round 4 (126) - S - Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, IUP
• Round 6 (179) - OT - Sam Young, Notre Dame
• Round 6 (196) - CB - Jamar Wall, Texas Tech
• Round 7 (243) - DE - Sean Lissemore, W & Mary