Historic Draft: 1968

Grade: C-

I’m nearing the end of the first decade of Cowboys drafts, which fortunately means that we are getting closer to that 1975 draft. The focus of today– the 1968 draft– was nothing close, yielding a total of three starters and 12 picks for guys who never played a down for the Cowboys. The three starters were solid, and I think that this sort of draft is about equal to one that produces one hall-of-famer and nobody else (see 1967 draft story). Just my opinion.

Dallas used its top pick on receiver Dennis Homan of Alabama. He played three years for Dallas, hauling in a total of 23 passes for 437 yards and one touchdown. After spending the next two seasons in Kansas City, Homan became something of a celebrity in the World Football League, where he played for the Birmingham teams (as I just learned, Birmingham was the Americans in 1974 before becoming the Vulcans in 1975). I’ll save the rest for a Most Obscure Player entry…

The Cowboys also took a receiver with their second pick. Dave McDaniels of Mississippi Valley State never caught a pass for the Cowboys and was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles before the 1969 season. He was apparently considered one of Gil Brandt’s mistakes.

Three others from the 1968 draft were solid contributors for the Cowboys for several years to come.

–Guard Blaine Nye (5th round) was a two-time Pro Bowler who played with Dallas until 1976.
–Linebacker D.D. Lewis (6th round) played for Dallas until 1981 (taking a year off in 1969 to serve in the military). He backed up Chuck Howley for four seasons before taking over as a starter. He later served as the defensive captain.
– Defensive end Larry Cole played from 1968 through 1980.

1 (20, 20) – Dennis Homan, Alabama
2 (18, 45) – Dave McDaniels, Mississippi Valley State
3 (16, 71) – Ed Harmon, Louisville
4 (14, 97) – John Doughlas, Missouri
5 (19, 130) – Blaine Nye, Stanford
6 (21, 159) – D.D. Lewis, Mississippi State
7 (20, 185) – Bob Taucher, Nebraska
8 (19, 211) – Frank Brown, Albany State
9 (22, 241) – Ken Kmiec, Illinois
10 (20, 266) – Ben Olison, Kansas
11 (19, 292) – Ron Shotts, Oklahoma
12 (21, 321) – Wilson Whitty, Boston University
13 (20, 347) – Carter Lord, Harvard
14 (19, 373) – Ron Williams, West Virginia
15 (21, 402) – Tony Lunceford, Auburn
16 (20, 428) – Larry Cole, Hawaii
17 (19, 454) – George Nordgren, Houston

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Not sure if this has been widely viewed, but here is a video of magician David Blaine performing a card trick in the Cowboys locker room.