Draft Day 2005 

Jimmy Johnson left the Cowboys after the 1993 season. With Jerry Jones running the draft room, the Cowboys have not carded an A for a draft since then. Until now.

Jerry Jones and Bill Parcells engineered the best draft of the post-Johnson era, receiving one of three A's on the NFL grade card. And that A could become an A-plus a year down the road if defensive end Chris Canty recovers from an eye injury that could force him to spend the 2005 season on the sideline. Because of the injury, Canty was a Top 40 talent that slid to Dallas in the fourth round.

The Cowboys had the best first day on this draft. Landing the speed of Demarcus Ware and the size of Marcus Spears was the dream scenario of Jerry Jones and Bill Parcells. The Dallas defensive front got bigger and faster overnight. Good players often come to those who don't trade down. Justin Beriault and Rob Petitti in the sixth round was a good way for the Cowboys to close the draft out. The second day is what makes a good draft great. For a change the Cowboys made some superb second-day draft picks in Canty, Beriault and Petitti.

IRVING, Texas - The Cowboys jumped headfirst into the second day of the NFL Draft, taking two players in the fourth round, including yet another defensive end.

After drafting two ends in the first round on Saturday - Troy's Demarcus Ware and LSU's Marcus Spears, the Cowboys picked up their third end in Virginia's Chris Canty. The Cowboys had to make a trade with Philadelphia to move into the end of the fourth round. The Cowboys picked up the 132nd overall pick, and a sixth-round pick in 2006 for a fifth-round selection this year, and a fourth-round pick in next year's draft.

The trade came after the Cowboys picked Minnesota running Marion Barber III with their original fourth-round pick. Barber, who rushed for 2,465 yards and 28 touchdowns the past two years for the Gophers, was the first offensive player taken by the Cowboys this year.

Last season, Parcells expressed his desire for a change-of-pace running back to spell starter Julius Jones, who had three straight games with at least 30 carries after returning from a broken shoulder blade at midseason.

Barber (5-11, 221) is used to splitting carries from his college days. Last season he rushed 194 times for 1,082 yards and 10 touchdowns in a two-back system with Laurence Maroney. Barber finished his college career with back-to-back 100-yard performances against Iowa (167) and Alabama (187) in the Music City Bowl.