Dallas Cowboys: Top 10 Offseason Trades in the 21st Century
4. 2004 NFL Draft Trade
Cowboys received
43rd overall pick (Julius Jones)
144th overall pick (Sean Ryan)
2005 20th overall pick (Marcus Spears)
Bills received
22nd overall pick (J.P. Losman)
Sometimes your team makes the boneheaded trade and you just have to deal with it, unfortunately. If your team is the Buffalo Bills, 2004 was your bonehead year.
Also, if you are a Buffalo Bills fan, what are you doing on sportdfw.com? Do not leave though because we are about to rip through a ridiculous moment in your franchise’s history.
The Bills already had veteran Drew Bledsoe at quarterback, but he was in the final year of his contract. Buffalo had already drafted Lee Evans with the 12th overall pick and decided to get a second first rounder by trading with Dallas.
Dallas received a second-round pick, fifth round pick, and a first-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft.
Buffalo selected Tulane quarterback J.P. Losman with the 22nd overall pick. Losman would have a severely unproductive career and is one of the most underrated draft busts around.
Meanwhile, in Cowboy land, Dallas was struggling to find a good replacement for Emmitt Smith, who left in 2002. The initial successor, Troy Hambrick, did not pan out well for Dallas.
The Cowboys selected Norte Dame halfback Julius Jones with the 43rd overall pick in the draft. Jones would have a moderately successful career with the Cowboys. He racked up over 3000 yards during his four seasons. In 2006, Jones rushed for 1000 yards, it was not until 2013 that another Cowboy would reach this mark when Demarco Murray did so.
In the fifth round, the Cowboys selected Boston College tight end, Sean Ryan. He would spend two years with the team without catching a pass. He was traded in 2006 and played in the NFL until 2009.
Dallas also received a first-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. With this selection, they took LSU defensive end Marcus Spears. He would put in eight decent seasons for the Cowboys. His best years came between 2005 to 2009 where he anchored some well-respected defenses.