In 1974 the Dallas Cowboys were preparing for that year’s NFL Draft as one of the league’s top teams.
Two seasons before they had finally captured their first NFL championship. A few months earlier they had lost to the Vikings in the NFC title game.
But despite the recent run of success, the Cowboys were looking to retool and add the needed pieces to make another title run.
While the 1974 Draft would not match the success of the 1964 Draft of a decade earlier – one that netted three future Hall of Famers – they did have a solid draft.
They did so thanks to a trade before the 1973 season with their neighbors to the south. Dallas sent defensive end Tody Smith and receiver Billy Parks to the Oilers.
In return, the Cowboys got Houston’s No. 1 pick along with the 53rd overall pick in the 1974 Draft which fell in the third round.
The Oilers got 50 games over four seasons – along with 21 sacks, an interception, and four fumble recoveries – out of Smith.
Parks would play three seasons in Houston. He had 64 catches for 919 yards and two touchdowns for the Oilers.
Dallas got a lot more back in return on their end of the deal.
Ed “Too Tall” Jones
At 6-9, 271-pounds out of Tennessee State, Jones was the perfect addition to the Cowboys defense. His size alone put fear into the opposing offense before they even got off the bus.
By the 1975 season, Jones was a full-time starter.
He would play 15 seasons – missing the 1979 season to pursue an ill-fated boxing career – and earned three Pro Bowl berths.
He ended his career with an impressive stat line. Jones had 106 sacks, three interceptions, and 19 fumble recoveries.
Oddly enough, Jones is still not enshrined in the Ring of Honor. A curious oversight given he was an instrumental part of the Cowboys’ defense in 1977 that secured a second Super Bowl win.
That is likely one reason why Jones has also not been called to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Charley Young
The Cowboys still had their own first round pick, the 22nd overall, and they looked to shore up their offense.
They went with running back – after missing out on receiver Lynn Swann when the Steelers took him with the 21st pick – and took Charley Young out of North Carolina State.
Young joined a running-back-by-committee approach in Dallas. He was one of six running backs to get his name in the box score in the 1974 season.
He finished fourth in yardage (205) behind Calvin Hill (844), Robert Newhouse (501), and Walt Garrison (429).
Young would play three full seasons with the Cowboys but would never get higher on the depth chart.
By 1976, Doug Dennison, who was an undrafted free agent signed by Dallas in 1974, was the top rusher for Dallas. Young’s career ended after the 1976 season – when the Cowboys drafted Tony Dorsett.
He played in 37 games and made three starts. He finished with 638 yards and two touchdowns on 131 carries. Young added 391 yards in 40 catches with two more touchdowns.
Danny White
Dallas did not have a second round pick in 1974. It didn’t matter.
Their next pick was the first made in the third round.
They selected quarterback Danny White out of Arizona State.
White would serve as backup to Roger Staubach until taking over as the starter in 1980. He would serve as the team’s punter in the interim.
In his four years as the backup he made one start – a 30-7 win over the Jets to close out the 1978 season. He would lead Dallas to three straight NFC title games in the 1980s.
But he could never quite get Dallas back to the Super Bowl.
Still, he finished 62-30 as a starter before retiring after the 1988 season. He threw for 21,959 yards, 155 touchdowns and 132 interceptions in 13 seasons.
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Of the remaining 16 players the Cowboys drafted that year, only four would play in a regular season NFL game.
None of them ever started a game for Dallas. None were on the team after the 1975 season.