Draft History: 2005

IRVING – Owner Jerry Jones went to sleep with Virginia's Chris Canty on his mind. And he was still obsessing over the 6-7, 285-pound defensive end when he woke up.

So when Canty was available late in the fourth round, Jones pounced.

Dallas traded its fifth-round pick and a fourth-round selection in 2006 to Philadelphia for the 31st pick in the fourth round and a sixth-round choice in 2006 and picked Canty.

"I was surprised Canty was there with the eighth pick," Jones said. "I had difficulty not picking him there. I was sure we'd miss Canty once we passed him."

Canty is no ordinary fourth-round pick.

He entered his senior season as one of the nation's best defensive players and probably would've been a late first- or second-round pick, if he hadn't suffered a season-ending knee injury in the fourth game. Then he suffered a detached retina when he was hit in the eye with a glass bottle during a melee at a bar in January.

"We didn't talk very much about that situation," Canty said. "I think [Coach Parcells] understands what type of person I was and that I'm not a troublemaker."

He still needs surgery to repair the retina. But Jones seemed optimistic that he would be ready for training camp and have a chance to contribute this season.

"It crossed my mind early when the event happened but as we put more distance between the event and now I feel better about my chances to play in the National Football League," Canty said.

As a junior, Canty had 104 tackles, 12 for losses and four sacks. He has the potential to be an elite player, something most fourth-round selections don't have, so Jones felt justified in taking the risk.

With the eighth pick of the fourth round, Dallas took Minnesota running back Marion Barber III, whose father had a seven-year career with the New York Jets.

The Cowboys almost took Canty with that pick, but they preferred Barber over any other runner on their draft board because he's capable of being the featured running back and carrying the ball 20 times a game. Plus, the Cowboys didn't think he would be available in the fifth round, so they took him.

"Marion is a versatile running back," Jerry Jones said of Barber, who rushed for 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. "When he comes in the game, we can do the same things we can do with Julius Jones."

Dallas added Ball State safety Justin Beriault and Pittsburgh offensive tackle Rob Petitti in the sixth round and Auburn defensive tackle Jay Ratliff in the seventh round.

But it's the addition of Canty, first-round picks Demarcus Ware and Marcus Spears and second-round pick Kevin Burnett that has Jones and coach Bill Parcells confident they can fix a defensive unit that struggled much of last season.

Parcells said he is determined to change this team after losing seven games by at least 14 points, including four by more than 20 points last season.

"There's going to be a little different look to the Cowboys," Parcells said. "... I put them on notice in the last meeting of the season. It's not going to stay the same. It's going to change."

The change will start with a defensive unit that slipped to 16th in 2004 after being No.1 in the NFL in 2003.

It will be a bigger, more physical unit this season with the addition of Spears, Canty and free-agent defensive tackle Jason Ferguson. And Parcells hopes it will be a unit that produces more sacks (33) and turnovers (22) than last year with the addition of free-agent cornerback Anthony Henry and Ware as a pass rusher.

"When I look at it, we've added serious people who are qualified to really come in and upgrade our defense," Jones said.

Staff Writer Todd Archer contributed to this report.