Draft History: 2001

IRVING – The Cowboys, who finished 31st in the NFL in run defense and became the first club in league history to allow three 200-yard rushers in a season, spent the second day of the draft addressing their biggest need.

The Cowboys spent four of their six picks on Sunday on defense, including three on defensive lineman.

"The group of guys we took have a lot of upside," coach Dave Campo said. "I don't know how soon they'll start playing, but I know the defensive linemen should come in and contribute."

In the Cowboys' defensive scheme, the defensive tackles are supposed to engage the guards and prevent them from blocking the linebackers, who are supposed to flow to the ball and make tackles.

To do that, the Cowboys would prefer for their tackles to weigh more than 300 pounds.

The two tackles Dallas selected on Sunday – Southern Mississippi's tandem of Daleroy Stewart and John Nix – each fit that criteria. Stewart, a sixth-round pick (171st overall) is 6-4 and 309 pounds, and Nix, a seventh-round pick (240th overall), is 6-1 and 313 pounds.

Third-round pick Willie Blade, selected on Saturday, is 6-3 and 319 pounds.

Stewart could begin the season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list because he's recovering from rotator cuff surgery. Jones said he doesn't expect him to be ready until after training camp begins, if then.

"We've done a lot of research and there have only been 23 or 24 players who have had this type of surgery in the last seven years," owner Jerry Jones said.

"But we wouldn't have gotten him in this round without those problems."

The Cowboys, always seeking an athletic, pass-rushing defensive end, picked Central Missouri's Colston Weatherington in the seventh round (207th overall).

Earlier in the day, the Cowboys drafted Southern California linebacker Markus Steele in the fourth round (122nd overall) and Virginia Tech guard Matt Lehr in the fifth round (137th overall).

Both players fit down-the-road needs.

Steele played on the weakside in college, but at 6-3 and 240 pounds, the Cowboys think he can play on the strongside, where he'll have to take on 265-pound tight ends on a regular basis.

Darren Hambrick, the club's starting strongside linebacker, led the team in tackles last season. But he will be an unrestricted free agent and will probably command too high a salary to remain with Dallas.

Center Mark Stepnoski, 34, will have a salary-cap figure of $4.015 million next season, including a $250,000 roster bonus due in March. That means there's a chance he could be a salary-cap casualty.

Dallas expects to convert Lehr to center, where he should be able to compete for a starting job in 2002 if Stepnoski is no longer with the Cowboys.

"We're bringing him in to compete and we'll see how he does," offensive line coach Hudson Houck said. "But we have a history of playing the five best offensive linemen, regardless of position. We want the best players on the field."