Draft History: 2000

IRVING – No one player can replace what Deion Sanders meant to the Cowboys.

That's why Dallas has decided to corner the market.

The Cowboys selected two cornerbacks in Sunday's portion of the NFL draft – West Texas A&M's Kareem Larrimore in the fourth round and Florida State's Mario Edwards in the sixth. Those picks came less than 24 hours after the club used a second round pick on Tennessee cornerback Dwayne Goodrich.

All three selections follow the free agent signing of veteran Ryan McNeil as the club braces for the imminent departure of Sanders in June.

"We're pleased because we feel like we grabbed a need by the throat in terms of what we were trying to do in our secondary," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "I like the way we've given ourselves the opportunity to come up with playmakers in our secondary."

The Cowboys' stated goal in the second day of this draft was to hit a home run. Their hopes rest on a talented yet undisciplined corner who tested positive for marijuana at the scouting combine, another corner who inexplicably plummeted and a tailback who will be converted to a slot receiver.

A few weeks ago, teams were discussing Larrimore in the second round. His stock began to drop, NFL sources say, when word began to filter around the league that he tested positive for marijuana in Indianapolis.

"I wouldn't know if I did or didn't," Larrimore said.

Sean Jones, Larrimore's agent, said he would have no comment about any drug test involving his client. Jerry Jones and other club officials also declined to comment. But one club official confirmed that part of the reason for Larrimore's visit to Valley Ranch on Thursday was to assuage any concerns and to meet with consultant Calvin Hill, who is in charge of player programs.

Larrimore has the talent to be the home run Jones hopes to hit in the second day of this draft. The club's physical and psychological tests project that the fourth-round pick can make an immediate impact. Former Cowboy Cornell Green told the club he thought the 24-year-old defender was the best corner in the draft.

"He has outstanding feet," Cowboys coach Dave Campo said. "The guy, I think, can jump in and jump on a slot receiver because of his feet and his speed.

"We have a chance there to have a special player."

Sean Jones said his client has some "Deionesque" qualities and added, "of the guys we have, the most ready to play is Kareem Larrimore." That is significant because Jones also represents Penn State defensive end Courtney Brown, the first player taken in the draft.

Larrimore, meanwhile, acknowledges he wasn't as consistent in college as the pros would like and needs to hit the weight room. But he said he "can cover anyone," plays the deep ball well and is looking forward to the competition in the Cowboys defensive backfield.

"I have no problem working for it," Larrimore said. "I feel that I'm good enough to compete for the position and end up starting sooner or later."

Edwards was a player the Cowboys discussed taking in the second round. Like Goodrich, he had been projected as a late first-round pick after his junior year, only to watch his value suffer because of a disappointing senior season.

As teams continued to pass on Edwards, the Cowboys became nervous and called around to see if they had missed anything in his background or medical report that would lead to the drop.

Once Dallas was comfortable nothing was there, it selected him in the sixth round. Campo compared Edwards' baffling fall to that of Larry Brown, the TCU cornerback the Cowboys took in the 12th round of the 1991 draft.

"This guy has got the longest arms I've seen," Campo said of Edwards.

The only offensive player the Cowboys took with their five draft picks, Ohio State's Michael Wiley, will be converted from tailback to slot receiver.