Draft History: 1990

The Cowboys entered the draft Sunday with 14 picks and exited Monday with six players. If that doesn't quite sound like a bargain, it was Jimmy Johnson's plan all along.

His logic was fairly simple. The Cowboys already had 73 players under contract, and no NFL team can have more than 80.

"We did not want to make late-round picks just to cut them before we go to Austin" for training camp, he said. "We pretty well made it clear before the draft we were going to do that."

In a typical move, the Cowboys packaged picks in the sixth, eighth, ninth, 10th and 11th rounds and traded them for Notre Dame cornerback Stan Smagala, the Raiders' fifth-round selection.

"We feel like he's been a productive player for them, and he's got speed," Johnson said.

While the Cowboys won't have enough draft choices from this year to get up a decent basketball game, their stockpile for the 1991 draft has grown even larger. By trading three sixth-round picks to San Diego, they acquired the Chargers' third-round pick next year.

For 1991, the Cowboys already had Minnesota's first- and second-round picks from the Herschel Walker trade and a pick from Kansas City in the Steve Pelluer trade that will be a second, third or fourth.

"This year's draft won't be ranked high because we did not get a large number of players," Johnson said. "But when you look at it, I think you have to also include Terrence Flagler and Danny Stubbs,' who were acquired from San Francisco for draft picks, "along with San Diego's third next year to see just what we got."

And just what did the Cowboys get? For one thing, they added a starting running back, since it's a given that first-round pick Emmitt Smith or Flagler will be the tailback. Whoever doesn't start is expected to contribute heavily. Johnson says he grabbed another starter in the second round by selecting wide receiver Alexander Wright.

And once fans forget about the coincidence of drafting a Miami player named Jimmie Jones, Johnson says people will see that the Cowboys added a quality player in the third round and possibly another rookie starter.

Here's a look at the pros and cons of the Cowboys' six 1990 draft picks:

Emmitt Smith, RB, Florida, first round: The cons are outnumbered here. Although some questioned why the Cowboys would take a running back No. 1 only three days after trading for Flagler, the answer is simple. A 1-15 team needs any help it can find, and Smith gives the Cowboys depth at a position at which it was awful following the Walker trade. Paul Palmer led them with 446 yards rushing last season.

Smith, Johnson said, "is so smooth with tremendous balance. He's also a top-notch receiver coming out of the backfield. This guy is top-notch. I think he'll make a big impact this year."

Said one NFL offensive coach: "They'll find Emmitt doesn't have as pure a speed as they'd like and he's a little guy, so when he gets hurt, he's in trouble. But he's definitely a player, a good pick."

Smith will more closely resemble Dorsett than Walker in a Cowboys' uniform, but even if he never reaches either's class, he should make fans forget about Palmer and 1989 in about five minutes.

Alex Wright, WR, Auburn, second round: Said Tampa Bay director of player personnel Jerry Angelo, "He's Anthony Miller."

The Cowboys can only hope Angelo is right. Miller, a first-round pick from Tennessee in 1988, caught 75 passes for 1,252 yards and 10 touchdowns for San Diego last season. The Cowboys would settle for that kind of production from Wright in two years.

He recently ran a 4.27-second 40-yard dash on grass for New York Giants scouts. Four years ago, a wide receiver named Mike Sherrard ran a sub-4.3 40 on grass at the Raiders' camp, which encouraged the Cowboys to go after him. And the Cowboys are due for some better luck with this guy.

"I know Troy (Aikman) is excited about the players we got," Johnson said. "He said yesterday that he's going to have to work on his arm strength to get the ball downfield to Wright. But I think he probably has the arm strength."

Wright has the speed, but does he have the hands? "He can catch," said an NFL offensive coach. "How can you not go after the Wright guy? That was a perfect pick for them. Kelvin Martin is not the answer. I think they ought to be smiling."

Jimmie Jones, DT, Miami, third round: Figure it this way. Johnson is leaving Danny Noonan at end, basically as a backup to Jim Jeffcoat, Stubbs and Tony Tolbert. Part of the reason is because Johnson thinks Jones will play as a rookie.

"He was the fifth tackle we had on our board," Johnson said. "We had Cortez Kennedy, Ray Agnew, (Marc) Spindler, Dennis Brown and Jimmie Jones. We know what he can do. He's got the talent to play for us. He's just got to do it every down."

Injuries and a need to work to support a wife and daughter disrupted Jones' college career. He will compete with Dean Hamel, Willie Broughton, Mark Walen and Anthony Spears for a tackle position.

For what it's worth, Jones made draft analyst Joel Buchsbaum's "underachievers' list.

Stan Smagala, CB, Notre Dame, fifth round: He's the Cowboys' version of baseball's Von Hayes since they gave up five players (actually draft picks) to get him. Smagala ran a 4.49 40 at the Indianapolis scouting combine, fourth among the 23 cornerbacks tested.

"He was the one we had on our board who had the dimension (speed) we were looking for," Johnson said.

The downside?

"He wasn't as aggressive in run support as we would have liked," Johnson said. "He's mainly a cover guy."

Smagala's competition is Issiac Holt, Ron Francis and Robert Williams. Look for this fifth-round pick to stick.

Kenneth Gant, CB, Albany State, ninth round: He had five interceptions each of the last two seasons but has to be considered a long shot, barring injury to other corners. But Johnson has hope.

"Dick Nolan worked him out and thought he had a chance to make our club," Johnson said.

Dave Harper, LB, Humboldt State, 11th round: The Cowboys get more speed at linebacker with this 6-1, 220-pounder. "We think he can help us as a special teams player," Johnson said.

But a logjam at linebacker gives Harper little hope of lasting through training camp.