Draft History: 1991

IRVING – It may have been a slow draft for the NFL – but it was a fast one for the Cowboys.

The 1991 draft dragged on for more than 17 hours over two days with the Cowboys contributing heavily to that slowdown. The Cowboys were on the clock five times in the first round, when teams are allotted 15 minutes, and squeezed every second they could.

After quickly taking Russell Maryland with the first pick, the Cowboys ran the clock down to nothing the next four times they were up. They negotiated Alvin Harper's contract during the 15 minutes of the 12th overall pick then traded down their next three times.

Maryland and Harper are projected as impact players, and the Cowboys hoped to use the rest of the draft to upgrade their depth with speed players. They found that speed throughout the final 11 rounds.

Harper gives the Cowboys a speed dimension at wide receiver with a 4.5-second time in the 40-yard dash. But they drafted four players that were even faster, including a linebacker. That was Florida's Godfrey Myles, who has 4.46 speed. The Cowboys took him with their first pick of the third round.

The Cowboys drafted another linebacker who can run stride for stride with Harper – Dixon Edwards, who ran a 4.51 40 for the Cowboys in March.

The Cowboys got the second-fastest player in the draft in 5-9, 166-pound wide receiver Damon Mays of Missouri. Only Raghib "Rocket" Ismail in the 1991 draft class ran a faster 40 than the 4.31 by Mays. The Cowboys also took one of the fastest defensive backs in the draft in TCU safety Larry Brown, who runs a 4.42 40.

"We had pinpointed linebackers, special teams, offensive line and speed," Johnson said. "We're always looking for speed."

The Cowboys added some speed on offense with their selections of running backs Curvin Richards and Tony Boles. Richards, a fourth-round pick out of Pittsburgh, runs a 4.47 and Boles, an 11th-round pick out of Michigan, a 4.6. The catch is, those times are when they are healthy. Richards is coming off an ankle injury and Boles a knee injury.

If healthy, Boles could be an 11th-round steal. He rushed for 1,359 yards and 11 touchdowns in his sophomore year, but his junior season ended after nine games with a knee injury. He underwent reconstructive knee surgery that December and missed the entire 1990 season.

"Boles was projected to be a high pick this year but slipped (to the 11th round) because he was rehabbing his knee," Johnson said. "He's not fully recovered yet, but we anticipate he'll be ready to go by training camp."

The Cowboys also drafted what could be their linebacking corps of the 1990s in Edwards, Darrick Brownlow and Myles. Edwards will go to camp as a backup to Ken Norton on the weakside, Brownlow as a backup to Jack Del Rio in the middle and Myles as a backup to Jesse Solomon on the strongside.

"We anticipated drafting linebackers," Johnson said. "We really wanted Edwards and Myles, and we felt we'd take a look at Darrick Brownlow had we missed out on Myles. As it turned out we were able to get all three of them.

"We were looking at them because we wanted some speed that could help on our special teams."

Linebackers traditionally are the backbone of special teams units because there are so many of them on the roster. The Cowboys carried seven last year, and many NFL teams carry eight.

The lack of speed on their coverage teams was apparent last season when the Cowboys ranked 22nd in the league in kickoff coverage with a yield of 20.7 yards per return and 26th in punt coverage with a yield of 10.2 yards.

But the three young linebackers give the Cowboys an automatic upgrade in the kicking game. Edwards played on all of Michigan State's special teams last season and Brownlow was a standout special teams player in his career at Illinois. He was the only freshman in school history to serve as a special teams captain.

Brownlow was a three-time All-Big Ten pick for the Illini and Edwards a second-team All-Big Ten pick last year. Myles was an All-AEC pick at safety in his senior season after starting at linebacker in 1989.

Fourth-round picks Tony Hill and Kevin Harris also bring speed to the Cowboys. They played linebacker in college, Hill at Tennessee-Chattanooga and Harris at Texas Southern, but the Cowboys project both as defensive ends.

What they lack in size – Hill is 6-5, 250 and Harris 6-5, 248 – they make up in quickness. Hill runs a 4.8 40 and Harris a 4.78.

The Cowboys entered the draft looking for a defensive tackle, linebacker and cornerback on defense in this year's draft and a wide receiver, quarterback and tackle on offense. They addressed all those needs except cornerback in their 17 picks.

The Cowboys claimed All-Pac 10 quarterback Bill Musgrave of Oregon in the fourth round and tackle Erik Williams of Central State (Ohio) in the third round. They also gave themselves the luxury of keeping Nate Newton at left tackle by drafting two guards, James Richards of Cal in the third round and Mike Sullivan of Miami in the sixth round.

"If I don't look like I'm about ready to jump out of my shoes totally ecstatic," Johnson said at a post-draft news conference, "it's because we've only had a few hours of sleep. But I really feel good about this draft."