The NFL Draft Chronicles: Cowboys Dynasty of the 90s.
The Dallas Cowboys built their 90s dynasty through the draft.
By now, most of you know the tale of how the Dallas Cowboys ' 1990s Dynasty came to be, which remains the most incredible story ever told. Jimmy Johnson became the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 1989, and he came in guns blazing. Johnson would basically cut any ties the team had to Tom Landry, including their best player at the time, Hershel Walker.
Walker played with the USFL's New Jersey Generals coming out of college, and when the team folded, the Cowboys held his rights. He was the best player left on that team when Johnson got there, so Johnson got the idea, along with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, to make the biggest blockbuster trade in NFL history. They would trade Walker to get a bunch of draft picks out of it.
It was an insane idea at the time, but the Cowboys couldn't build their team around an aging star. In comes the Minnesota Vikings . The Vikings, who were a better team than the Cowboys at the time, were trying to make it to the Super Bowl and felt they needed one more piece: Walker.
The deal was made, Walker to the Vikings for a first-rounder in the 1990 draft that became Emmitt Smith, a second-rounder, and four more players. But here's the catch that made both Johnson and Jones look like geniuses. The deal was also tied to the players the Cowboys received from the Vikings.