With Dez, Jones Exorcises War Room Ghosts

You can call Thursday's draft day decision somewhat of a spiritual cleansing of the Cowboys war room.

The ghost of Randy Moss may finally be gone for good, at least that's what Jerry Jones is praying for with the selection of OSU wide receiver Dez Bryant.

12 years ago, Jones faced a similar decision in the 98' NFL Draft. 

The Cowboys triplets were aging and Jones had a chance to infuse a new spark to the team. Jones passed on Randy Moss for Greg Ellis, and he's been haunted with that choice ever since.

Lets be fair though. Moss came with some major baggage and Jerry didn't want to pull the trigger on the deal because the team had already gone through a number of legal problems of their own.

And Jerry wasn't alone, 19 other teams also passed on the gifted wide out. Moss wasn't even the first wide out selected that year, anyone remember Kevin Dyson? Didn't think so.

The eighth pick that year would have been a gamble, but Jerry's still the type of owner to make that move. Look up Terrell Owens, Keyshawn Johnson, Pac-Man Jones and Tank Johnson.

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Moss was a life-long Cowboys fan who felt Jones had lied to him, so he took out his frustration on the organization for the rest of his career. He wreaked havoc on the Boys for so long that Jones and former Cowboys defensive players still have nightmares about No. 84.

Keep in mind, Jones has had some nice drafts since 1998, but the pick he didn't make still is the one most talked about in Cowboys land.

Thursday night, Jones was certain he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

Like Moss, Bryant comes with some baggage and question marks, but his talent can't be denied. He could have been and should have been a top 10 pick, but being suspended for the majority of his senior season at Oklahoma State put a damper on his appeal.

This time around tough, Jerry didn't care. He needed to have Dez, and he pulled the trigger on the deal to get him to Valley Ranch.

Now its time for Dez to wreak havoc on the 23 teams that passed him over, and for Jerry to finally get rid of the ghost of Randy Moss that's been haunting him for 12 years.

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