Recent draft trends show Dallas Cowboys’ 4th overall pick will be a good one

The Dallas Cowboys will have nine selections in the NFL Draft, including the fourth overall pick.

Recent history shows that the Cowboys will land an instant starter who has Pro Bowl potential.

“At the end of the day, you get a chance when you’re picking this high to get a player who makes a difference for a long period of time,” Stephen Jones said.

Jones is right.

Here’s a look at how the past five players chosen with the fourth overall pick have fared:

2015 Amari Cooper, wide receiver, Oakland

Cooper was named to the Pro Bowl. He was originally a selected as an alternate, but later replaced Brandon Marshall in the game. Cooper led all NFL rookies in nearly every receiving category by posting 72 receptions for 1,070 yards (14.9 average.) with six touchdowns. Cooper’s five 100-yard games are tied for the second most by a rookie since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

2014 Sammy Watkins, wide receiver, Buffalo

He has started every game he has played in (29) and has 2,029 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns in two seasons. He had 1,047 yards in 13 games last season. He set team rookie records for receptions and receiving yards with 65 catches for 982 yards and six touchdowns.

2013 Lane Johnson, offensive tackle, Philadelphia

He was a walk-in starter and has started in all 44 games he’s played in the past three seasons. He was the first rookie offensive lineman to start at tackle for the Eagles since John Welbourn in 1999. He has 42 starts at right tackle and two starts at left tackle.

2012 Matt Kalil, offensive tackle, Minnesota

Kalil has not missed a game in his first four seasons with 64 consecutive starts. He was the second-highest drafted offensive lineman in Vikings history behind Hall of Famer Ron Yary, who was No. 1 in 1968. He was named to the 2012 Pro Bowl.

2011 A.J. Green, wide receiver (Cincinnati)

Green is the only player in Bengals history to make the Pro Bowl in each of his first five seasons. He has 24 games of 100 or more receiving yards. He joins Randy Moss (six) as the only NFL players to get 1,000 receiving yards in each of their first five seasons.

This story was originally published April 27, 2016 at 9:24 AM with the headline "Recent draft trends show Dallas Cowboys’ 4th overall pick will be a good one."