The NFL draft theme “The Future is Now” is splattered all over AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

But when Commissioner Roger Goodell stepped to the podium prior to the first pick Thursday, Dallas Cowboys fans who gathered deep in the heart of Texas let him know that they had hardly forgotten the past.

Goodell — despite walking onstage with Cowboy greats Troy Aikman, Jason Witten and Roger Staubach — was greeted with a torrent of boos, a reaction to his having suspended Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott for six games last season after a series of off-field incidents involving violence toward women.

Dallas, which was 4-3 before Elliott’s suspension, lost three of its first four games without him, finished 9-7 — coming off a 13-3 season in 2016 — and didn’t qualify for the playoffs.

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  • NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, center, poses for a photo with fans on the AT&T Stadium floor before Thursday’s first round of the draft. Photo: Michael Ainsworth / Associated Press
Photo: Michael Ainsworth / Associated Press
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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, center, poses for a photo with fans on the AT&T; Stadium floor before Thursday’s first round of the draft.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, center, poses for a photo with fans on the AT&T; Stadium floor before Thursday’s first round of the draft.
Photo: Michael Ainsworth / Associated Press

Mike Lerseth is a San Francisco Chronicle assistant sports editor. Email: mlerseth@sfchronicle.com Twitter @MikeLerseth