Dez Bryant and Jerry Rice...25 years later

by DavidH22 on Apr 23, 2010 8:03 AM CDT

After the 1984 season, the Dallas Cowboys were looking for a game-breaking wide receiver. Drew Pearson was just forced into retirement, Tony Hill was getting old and injury-prone, Mike Renfro had a definite ceiling, and it was obvious that former 2nd round pick Doug Donley was not going to meet expectations.

In the 1985 NFL draft, the Cowboys eyed a pass-catching marvel out of Div I-AA Mississippi Valley State named Jerry Rice. Rice had set all sorts of records at his small school, and caught 27 TDs his senior season. But yet it wasn't obvious to most NFL teams that he was a stud. Receivers Al Toon and Eddie Brown were picked ahead of Rice in the first round. He was slowly but surely falling into the waiting hands of Tom Landry.

Here's what happened next -

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-top-ten/09000d5d80211e7b/Top-Ten-Draft-Trades-Jerry-Rice

After the Cowboys had Rice snatched away and were left holding the bag, they drafted the usual useless players, including receivers Karl Powe (who did show some potential before injuries ended his career) and Leon Gonzales. The Cowboys did claim Herschel Walker in the 5th round of the 1985 draft, so it wasn't a complete loss.

When the Cowboys jumped ahead of the Baltimore Ravens last night my thoughts flashed back to 1985. The Ravens were definitely looking for a speedy new WR and were salivating over the prospect of adding Bryant, but Jerry somehow managed to jump ahead and steal him away, telling the Ravens "Nevermore."

In terms of a player comparison, please recall that Rice's 40 time was quite slow. Bryant is apparently the same way - not an official track star, but with obvious football speed.

Only time will tell if Dez Bryant will be a solid contributor, never mind a player with the ability and performance of Jerry Rice. But it's looking good so far!

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Comments

Not sure about the comparison...

but I’ll give you props for the Poe reference. Nicely done.

by Boundforbeach on Apr 23, 2010 8:15 AM CDT reply actions

exactly

what I was thinking… A Poe reference always classes up a post…

As for the comparison it may be a bit premature, but hey it is the morning after the first round and normally folks on here are ready to slit their wrists or JJ’s…

by Chris in Va on Apr 23, 2010 10:48 AM CDT up reply actions

Karl Powe?

by DavidH22 on Apr 23, 2010 8:42 AM CDT reply actions

I thought about this last night too...

However, Rice might not have been as good, at least at the start, just because Dallas didn’t have a quarterback to throw it to him, nor anywhere close to the team the Niners had at that point.

by TheCowboyFan on Apr 23, 2010 9:01 AM CDT reply actions

White was a capable QB

and putting Rice and Walker on the same field? That sounds interesting…

by DavidH22 on Apr 23, 2010 9:21 AM CDT up reply actions

I stress the word WAS...

he would then go on to break his wrist leaving theh QB corp to the likes of Steve Pelleuer and Kevin Sweeney…Rice’s first three or four years or maybe five would not have been anywhere close to HOF standard…

by TheCowboyFan on Apr 23, 2010 12:29 PM CDT up reply actions

Great post.

I thought about this last night. Had Rice fallen to Dallas, would Landry still have drafted Irvin later? Think about that team for a minute…

by ScarletO on Apr 23, 2010 9:04 AM CDT reply actions

Don't forget Dallas drafted Mike Sherrard in the 1st round a year later

and he had a pretty good rookie season. Unfortunately, he had some terrible injuries and never again played for the Cowboys.

by DavidH22 on Apr 23, 2010 9:28 AM CDT up reply actions

I remembered his leg fracture in training camp. Poor guy.

by ScarletO on Apr 23, 2010 9:42 AM CDT up reply actions

So can I ask

Is Bryant going to be your no 1 guy or will it be Austin?

by G Fan in England on Apr 23, 2010 9:10 AM CDT reply actions

Austin until he proves otherwise...

"What the hell is going on out there?" - Vince Lombardi.

by Nisri on Apr 23, 2010 9:15 AM CDT up reply actions

I think it is a tricky one

Irvin had Harper, Rice had Taylor, Carter had Moss (and the other way round).

Austin became a star in one season and Bryant would become a perfect foil for him to keep defences honest.

by G Fan in England on Apr 23, 2010 9:21 AM CDT up reply actions

What if Ogletree develops?

If the Cowboys can keep defenders off of Romo, he may break all of Gannon’s and Brady’s season records, and win several Super Bowls.

I wonder what this does for Martellus?

by ScarletO on Apr 23, 2010 9:45 AM CDT up reply actions

What about

Crayton or is he history with the drafting of Bryant?

by G Fan in England on Apr 23, 2010 9:48 AM CDT up reply actions

Crayton produces...

Martellus has not yet.

by ScarletO on Apr 23, 2010 9:50 AM CDT up reply actions

i was thinkin about our WR situation this morning. im happy with the trade up to get dez but i was also thinkin damn i was hoping ogletree would really be givin a shot next season. maybe they will get rid of crayton? yeah hes gone…but wait, hes still very reliable and is a capable punt returner as well, i dont think he will be gone. sam hurd? this would be the easy choice but we do need somebody to be on special teams lol. good old roy willy? we all know the deal with this bum. i only call him a bum because of how much he is being payed. i know he is a valuable target in the redzone is it a possiblity he gets the boot? i know jerry would be throwing away alot of money but isnt this the time u want to get rid of a big contract guy who isnt producing? will we keep 6 active WRs?

by DavidLaFleur on Apr 23, 2010 4:07 PM CDT up reply actions

Think about this...

If Dallas had drafted Rice and NOT Walker later in that draft, then the Herschel Walker trade to Minnesota that evenutually leads to the building of a dynasty in Dallas probably never happens.

All of those 49er and Dallas Super Bowls might never have come to be unless the board went the way it did and the Niners made the trade that they did.

I like to think that the 49ers ENABLED the creation of the Dallas dynasty in the 1990’s.

"Emotion is highly overrated in football. My wife Corky is emotional as hell but can't play football worth a damn."

- John McKay, the first coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

by 5Blings on Apr 23, 2010 1:03 PM CDT reply actions