Draft History: 1990

IRVING – Since the middle of a season he's trying to forget, Jimmy Johnson has talked of using high draft picks to reshape the Cowboys' defense. But maybe those three shutouts he endured in his rookie NFL coaching season struck a nerve, too.

Johnson, working his second NFL draft, traded with Pittsburgh to move up four spots in the first round and grab Florida running back Emmitt Smith. Then, Johnson opened the second round by taking the first wide receiver, Auburn speedster Alexander Wright.

And despite exchanging 13 picks to acquire five in four separate deals, there actually were some trades the Cowboys didn't make Sunday. Big trades, too. Johnson tried to move up to get defense before making the trade that produced the Smith pick, then tried to work a deal with Cleveland to move down in the second round before taking Wright.

The Cowboys, in fact, didn't address their defensive needs until completing a six-pick trade. They used New England's third-round choice to select another of Johnson's former University of Miami players, defensive tackle Jimmie Jones. Later, the Cowboys sent five picks to the Los Angeles Raiders to get fifth-round pick Stan Smagala, a cornerback from Notre Dame.

But in drafting Smith and Wright, Johnson hopes to have put seriously upgraded weapons at Troy Aikman's disposal.

"I feel like both players have the ability to start (as rookies)," Johnson said. "They'll have to learn the offense and our system, but I'd be surprised if both weren't in the lineup this season. Obviously, we wanted some defensive help today, but the players weren't warranted with the picks we had."

Which is not to say Johnson didn't pursue defensive help early in the first round. When the Cowboys saw two highly rated linebackers, Baylor's James Francis and Houston's Lamar Lathon, slide past the top eight picks, the phone calls began.

"We made an attempt to get James Francis and Lamar Lathon because we felt both could have helped our pass rush," Johnson said. "We also felt Ray Agnew was a quality linemen, and we were interested in him."

It was believed the Cowboys might be able to trade with New England for the 10th pick, but one Patriots offical said they received no "significant offers" before taking North Carolina State's Agnew with that selection.

"The teams we talked to were asking too much to trade up only a certain number of picks," Johnson said. "If Francis had lasted one more pick, probably we would have had a deal with Kansas City."

The Chiefs had the 13th pick and wanted Michigan State linebacker Percy Snow. A Chiefs' source said they believed Snow would be available at No. 21, the Cowboys' pick. But the arranged trade depended on Cincinnati, drafting 12th, cooperating.

Instead, the Bengals went for Francis, and the Cowboys went for offense.

The Cowboys weren't willing to make the same offer to Kansas City to get Lathon, so he ended up staying home, going to the Oilers at No. 15.

With those linebackers gone, Johnson said he didn't want to reach for defensive help.

"We could not risk at that point," said Johnson, whose first Cowboys team went 1-15. "At this stage, if we had a first-round bust, it could have been disastrous. We didn't want to take a chance with either our first pick or the 26th pick."

That didn't prevent him from making his 15th trade since draft day 1989. At the same time Francis and Lathon were sliding, teams were ignoring running backs.

The Cowboys said they had Smith rated No. 4 on their board and finally were able to trade up four spots to select him. They gave the Steelers the 21st selection and the last pick of the third round it had acquired Thursday from San Francisco in the Terrence Flagler-Danny Stubbs deal.

"We felt like Emmitt Smith was a quality player," Johnson said. "When we saw him available, we started trying to trade up. There were concerns about Emmitt's speed, but the times we had on him were under 4.5 (seconds over 40 yards). That was the key that probably put him ahead of other backs."

Smith, a first-team All-America, was third in the nation with 145.4 yards rushing per game. Only 20, he was the seventh junior selected among the top 17 players.

"I don't have any regrets at all about coming out," he said. "It's a chance I took, and I'm going to have to live with it. I'm looking forward to playing for Coach Johnson. I have high goals. I want to be the running back that Dallas wants me to be."

During ESPN's draft telecast, announcers speculated that Smith's choice of Richard Howell as his agent caused his stock to slide. One of Howell's clients, Cleveland wide receiver Lawyer Tillman, staged a long holdout last season.

"I heard the way they made it seem on ESPN," Smith said. "I won't be holding out until October."

The Cowboys began to solve their running back needs Thursday, acquiring Flagler from San Francisco. Now, Smith enters the picture, and Cowboys scouts and coaches give him the early edge over ex-49er.

"I think Flagler's good," scout Walt Yowarsky said. "I think Emmitt Smith is great."

Said running backs coach Joe Brodsky: "Emmitt Smith will take your breath away. Terrence Flagler will take your breath away, but you'll get it back."

While Smith and Flagler are expected to battle for a starting job this summer in Austin, Wright should make an instant impact on the receivers.

The Cowboys said they timed him at 4.28 seconds over 40 yards, much faster than any of their other receivers. At the Indianapolis scouting combine, Wright's fastest 40 time was 4.40; only one of the other 49 senior receivers, Florida's Stacey Simmons, ran faster (4.33).

Wright also had an impressive 35 1/2-inch vertical jump at the combine.

Before taking him, the Cowboys offered their second-round pick to Cleveland for the Browns' second, third and fourth choices. The Browns wouldn't meet that price, so Johnson took the receiver.

"He has the speed to stretch a defense, and we felt we needed that speed," Johnson said. "You've got to be able to score points to win."

Maybe those games against New Orleans, Philadelphia and the New York Giants – in which the Cowboys didn't – danced through Johnson's mind Sunday. The additions of Smith, Wright and, three days earlier, Flagler, should help his team avoid such misery this fall.