Draft History: 1986

A year ago, they tried and failed. Tuesday, the Dallas Cowboys focused in on a target and hit a bull's-eye.

Trading up in the first round for the first time since 1977, Dallas selected UCLA wide receiver Mike Sherrard, who should give them the speedy, deep threat they have been seeking. Then, using the high second-round choice acquired in Monday's Gary Hogeboom trade, the Cowboys drafted Arizona State running back Darryl Clack.

"What happened last year was a big disappointment," said coach Tom Landry, recalling the Cowboys' ineffective attempts to move up in the first round to select wide receiver Eddie Brown. "But I think what we came up with this year is equal to what we wanted last year. We couldn't have come out any better than this with our first two picks."

Dallas began negotiating with San Francisco very early Tuesday morning to move from 20th to 18th in the first round and leapfrog the New York Giants, another club reported to be interested in Sherrard. The stage was set when Buffalo, picking 16th, took Iowa running back Ronnie Harmon, the back 49er coach Bill Walsh coveted. The next pick belonged to Atlanta, a club interested in a receiver.

"When Atlanta took (Syracuse linebacker) Tim Green, then we knew we had a chance," Landry said. The Cowboys packaged their fifth-round pick with their first-round selection to get San Francisco's choice. At that point, Sherrard, UCLA's all-time leading receiver, became property of the Dallas Cowboys. He also became the first wide receiver selected by Dallas in the first round since Alabama's Dennis Homan in 1968.

"Finally something worked out," said president Tex Schramm. "This was our main target."

"I feel extremely good about this pick," Landry said. "We think Sherrard should be able to start for us this year. He has such great speed (he ran a 4.23 40 for Raiders scouts recently) and he carries it on a 6-1 1/2 frame. You've got everything you need."

The Cowboys satisfied another of the three needs Landry had looked to fill going into the draft when it took Clack in the second round. Clack rushed for more than 1,000 yards as a junior but carried just 22 times in 1985 before injuring his right fibula and suffering a stress fracture. He, like Sherrard, has outstanding speed.

"This is the player Tex and I thought we could get in the second round," said vice president Gil Brandt. Landry said Clack is primarily a tailback but could be used with Tony Dorsett at times. Having caught 32 passes as a junior, Clack could provide the pass-catching help out of the backfield Dallas wants.

In filling the two offensive needs, Landry said, "That's what we would have liked, but we wouldn't have taken anyone out of line. We had to trade to get Sherrard because I don't think there's any question that we wouldn't have gotten him without the trade. But we stayed right in line with our board."

If it wasn't quite what the doctor ordered – Sherrard missed five games with a fractured clavicle last year to go with Clack's injury – it was precisely what the pass offense coordinator ordered.

Paul Hackett, imported from San Francisco to bring some spark to an offense that suffered two shutouts (a franchise first) in 1985, said he will happily try to blend Sherrard and Clack into his offensive schemes.

"I was just one of a number of people who spent time with Mike Sherrard," Hackett said. "He's got that thing we didn't feel like anyone else in the draft had – blinding speed. Playing in a big-time Rose Bowl program, it all adds up to a guy who's probably as prepared for the pros as you will find."

Hackett likened Sherrard's situation to the one Jerry Rice encounted last year with the 49ers. Rice caught 49 passes for 927 yards.

"It's very similar. We had the veterans, Freddie Solomon and Dwight Clark, and right here we have Mike (Renfro) and Tony (Hill). They have played for 10 yards and we realize the need to give them the rest. Jerry Rice was able to make an impact very quickly and I would hope Mike will be able to do the same, but you never know," Hackett said.

"With Clack, here's a guy with exceptional speed, but because of his size, he could play some fullback. Once again, it's a matter of how quickly the learning process takes place."

The Cowboys, who had drafted eight defensive players in the first two rounds in the last four years, picked just one defensive player in the first eight rounds Tuesday. That pick was a bit of a surprise when they took UCLA defensive lineman Mark Walen in the third round. Walen was the Pac-10 defensive player of the year. He was ranked as the No. 25 defensive end in one scouting report, largely due to a lack of speed. Walen, 6-5, 250 pounds, ran a 5.15 40 in the New Orleans tryout camp in February.

"We had Ernie (Stautner) work him out and he was very impressed," Brandt said.

The surprises continued in the fourth round when Arizona kicker Max Zendejas was selected. The pick – the highest of a kicker by Dallas since 1972 when Utah's Marv Bateman, a combinatiion kicker-punter, was chosen – may have been designed to send a message to Rafael Septien, who suffered the closest thing he has had to an off-year in 1985 when he hit 68 percent of his field-goal attempts.

Zendejas' 77 career field goals rank third on the NCAA all-time list.