Draft History: 1992

IRVING – Draft Central at Valley Ranch once again became Trade Central on Sunday.

The Cowboys threw up an early and effective smoke screen – floating the name of cornerback Terrell Buckley to anyone who would listen – then traded up and down in almost frantic fashion on draft day, trying to convert their two first-round selections into three first-round-caliber picks.

The Cowboys almost pulled it off. They landed Texas A&M cornerback Kevin Smith and East Carolina middle linebacker Robert Jones before finally losing out on Miami safety Darryl Williams.

The trading didn't stop after Round 1. The Cowboys wound up making five deals on the opening day of the draft. A club source said the Cowboys also turned down two other trade proposals from the Kansas City Chiefs involving four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Albert Lewis.

Among all the trades, the Cowboys took wide receiver Jimmy Smith of Jackson State and strong safety Darren Woodson of Arizona State in the second round; cornerback Clayton Holmes of Carson-Newman and offensive tackle James Brown of Virginia State in the third round; guard Tom Myslinski of Tennessee in the fourth round; and safety Greg Briggs of Texas Southern and guard Rod Milstead of Delaware State in the fifth round.

The NFL will conduct the final seven rounds of the draft Monday.

The Cowboys agreed to contract terms with their first six draft picks before selecting them.

For weeks, the Cowboys let a false rumor build steam. Supposedly, they intended to move up into the top five picks of the draft to take Buckley, the Florida State All-America and Thorpe Award winner. But on draft day, they used that talk as cover to work behind the scenes in an attempt to land Smith, Jones and Williams.

"We privately told some media people earlier that we were not going to move up into the top part of the draft unless something bizarre happened," Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson conceded. "Our whole thought was to stay at 13 and maybe move down a spot or two."

When Smith was available for the Cowboys on the 13th pick, they did just that, trading down with New England into the 19th spot and picking up an extra second-round choice in the deal. That gave them three second-round picks – ammunition for a possible trade-up late in the first round for either Jones or Williams.

The Cowboys then let Smith, the cornerback they wanted all along, slide as far as they could. When the New Orleans Saints, who owned the 21st pick, told Smith they intended to take him, the Cowboys themselves traded up with Atlanta to take Smith out of circulation with the 17th pick.

Smith was the third cornerback taken after Buckley, who went to Green Bay on the fifth pick, and Wisconsin's Troy Vincent, who went to Miami on the seventh pick.

"I feel Dallas got the best cornerback available in the draft," Smith said. "Troy Vincent didn't do much at Wisconsin, and Terrell Buckley had interceptions (12 in 1991) but was beaten every week for touchdowns. I can count the times I got beat for a touchdown in my career on one hand.

"I'm happy those guys were ranked before me because I might have ended up in Green Bay like Terrell Buckley. I'm happy where I'm at."

When San Francisco took Washington safety Dana Hall at 18 over Williams, it appeared the Cowboys might get all three players on their short list. So they sat back and gambled, letting both Jones and Williams slide until it came their turn to pick again at 24.

But Jones was in the most immediate danger. The Detroit Lions had an interest in him at 26, and the Cincinnati Bengals had told Jones they would select him at 28. So the Cowboys drafted Jones – then worked the phones feverishly trying to to cut a deal for Williams at the end of the first round.

But the Cowboys were closed out by Detroit at 26 and Buffalo at 27. The Bengals, irate at having lost Jones to the Cowboys, then slammed the window shut – rejecting the Dallas trade overture and grabbing Williams for themselves on the final pick of the opening round.

Johnson took solace in managing to draft two of the three first-rounders he wanted.

"They are players we identified a long time ago that we wanted to have with the Cowboys," he said. "We had some nervous moments. We didn't know exactly when we were going to get them. But before the day started we wanted to get those two players and try to maximize our picks."

Of the six contracts negotiated by Jones on the draft clock, the easiest may have been the first – Smith, who signed a four-year deal for slightly more than $3 million, according to a source.

"I told my agent (Steve Zucker) not to overdo it, that I want to be in Dallas," Smith said. "Money shouldn't even be an issue. If I get paid like the 17th pick is supposed to get paid, then let's sign. I wasn't worried about the money. I probably would have taken a decrease to be in Dallas."