In defense of the Cowboys, they got a stud with their selection, but shouldn’t they have some draft day remorse?
Watt was available when the Cowboys went on the clock with the ninth overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.
Dallas selected left tackle Tyron Smith. Watt went to the Houston Texans two picks later. Watt has become pro football’s most dominant defensive player, but Smith isn’t some run of the mill tackle either.
The Cowboys gave Smith an eight-year, $98 million extension a few weeks ago, and don’t regret passing on the Texans stud disruptor.
“Yeah, that’s a long time ago. We liked him a lot,” Garrett said of Watt, according to the Forth Worth Star-Telegram. “We did spend a lot of time investigating him, getting to know him. That same year we took Tyron Smith so we feel really good about that decision. All those decisions we made very consciously and very deliberately and certainly that first pick was critical for us.
“We felt like we needed to get some cornerstone players, and Tyron Smith was coming out that year, and we felt like he can be a left tackle and be a cornerstone player for us,” he added. “We felt he had all the traits to be a great, great player for a long time at a really important position, and he’s certainly off to a good start.”
The two stars will lock horns on several occasions Sunday.