Draft History: 1995

IRVING – The Cowboys missed out on safety Devin Bush, didn't draft a high-profile wide receiver and lost their backup quarterback. Yet this was far from a lost weekend, according to Cowboys management.

"This was a draft where we had the luxury of looking at some unique players," owner Jerry Jones said. "Once we got to where we had extra picks, then we were going for specific players."

And Jones said the Cowboys got all the specific players they were seeking except for Bush, the Florida State safety taken by Atlanta just two spots ahead of Dallas' first-round selection. Jones said the Cowboys were going to trade down with Carolina and take Bush with the Panthers' second-round pick in the master plan.

Cowboys coach Barry Switzer said that after Bush, the club got the next five players it wanted: Alabama running back Sherman Williams, Mississippi State tight end Kendell Watkins, Michigan State tackle Shane Hannah, Bowling Green defensive back Charlie Williams and - Dallas' first pick Sunday - Washington tight end/wide receiver Eric Bjornson.

"Williams and Watkins will contribute this year," Switzer said. "We got six players we feel will play on special teams. But none of us really know what will happen. You sitting there don't and even us coaches don't know."

Dallas' other selections Sunday were: Mississippi cornerback Alundis Brice and Oklahoma State linebacker Linc Harden in the fourth round, USC wide receiver Ed Hervey and Illinois linebacker Dana Howard in the fifth and North Carolina defensive end Oscar Sturgis in the seventh.

Dallas mostly addressed needs created by free-agency defections. The ones they must fill now are those left by Rodney Peete, Alvin Harper and James Washington. Jones said the club will look at veterans at quarterback and at safety. New Orleans quarterback Wade Wilson may be in line for a two-year offer, and Jones remains intrigued by Houston's injured safety Bubba McDowell.

But Harper's wide receiver spot will have to be filled by Kevin Williams, Cory Fleming, Hervey or one of several rookie free agents the Cowboys hope to sign by early this week.

The Cowboys picked a number of players who didn't rank as high on other boards or in draft publications, but Jones said that's to be expected. "It's a combination of us thinking more of the players than others do and putting ourselves in position to get them," said Jones. "We don't pay a lot of attention if we spend a third on somebody that another team has (projected) as a sixth. We got players that we wanted."

Jones said there are two keys to this draft. The first was that the Cowboys finally landed a running back who could come in and do a reasonable Emmitt Smith imitation. "It's really tough to sit there with your top pick and say you're going to use it on someone who will play behind Emmitt," said Jones. "But we realized we have a football team that needed some protection in case something were to happen to Emmitt."

The second key was to continue to draft offensive linemen for the future. Last year the club picked Larry Allen, who became a rookie starter, and George Hegamin, who remains a long-term project. This year it was Hannah from Michigan State, who figures to move to guard, and Watkins, who eventually may shift from tight end to the interior line.

"Hud's been talking Hannah for two months around here," an excited Jones said of offensive line coach Hudson Houck. "Hegamin was a reach. Hud does not view Hannah as a reach. Hegamin's still young, but Hannah could come in and play this year.

"The key for us always will be not to have to pay retail to get an offensive lineman. With (center Ray) Donaldson, we're up there close to $1 million. We wish we would have had a Larry Allen ready to step in for him. For us to keep those top veterans on defense - Leon Lett, Darren Woodson, Kevin Smith - then we've got to keep our costs down in the offensive line."

Around Valley Ranch, one move always leads to the next. The Cowboys did some cost-cutting in the weekend draft. They can only hope they did some hole-filling at the same time.