Why Randy Moss Wasn’t Drafted by Cowboys Despite Jerry Jones’ Promise

Jerry Jones could have drafted Randy Moss 8th overall in 1998.

Why Randy Moss Wasn’t Drafted by Cowboys Despite Jerry Jones’ Promise

Jerry Jones in the circle and Radny Moss (Image via IMAGO)

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Draft day betrayals aren’t just common, but they happen far too often. Team owners back out of drafting a player at the last second despite making promises ahead of time. While numerous factors may influence such decisions, ultimately, it remains an act of betrayal. Jerry Jones is one name that repeatedly appears when searching through the abyss of broken promises.

Jones has plenty of stories tied to his name, but none are more famous than passing on the chance to draft Randy Moss, even after extensively scouting the Marshall standout in his final year.

Moss set the college football scene on fire during his two years with the Thundering Herd. He was viewed as a day-one prospect and expected to be the next great star of the Dallas Cowboys. However, in the last moment, Jones backed out, and Moss was drafted 21st overall by the Minnesota Vikings.

Three-time Super Bowl winner and career Cowboy, Darren Woodson, noted that Jones was ready to draft Moss on a recent episode of The Pivot Podcast. Woodson also revealed that the reason the Cowboys betrayed Moss’s trust was Michael Irvin.

There’s no denying Moss was a once-in-a-generation talent, but he often grabbed headlines for all the wrong reasons—much like Irvin. When Moss entered the league, Chan Gailey was the Cowboys’ head coach, and according to Woodson, Jones shielded Gailey from having to manage both Irvin and Moss in the same locker room.

“Because of all the problems. I’ll just call it what it was: we [the Cowboys] had a lot of problems off the field. I’m not saying it was Jerry. I think it was Chan Gailey, who was the coach at the time, who didn’t know if he could handle [Michael] Irvin and Randy Moss. Randy had a lot of problems off the field when he was in college, and I don’t think they felt like it was going to be a good match,” Woodson said.

Randy Moss paid back the Cowboys with interest

The Cowboys drafted University of North Carolina defensive end Greg Ellis instead of Moss, 8th overall. Ellis played eleven seasons in Dallas before finishing his career in Oakland.

Why Randy Moss Wasn't Drafted by Cowboys Despite Jerry Jones’ Promise
Jerry Jones (Image via IMAGO)

In a later interview, Ellis admitted that he did not have the same impact as Moss. He told ESPN:

I didn’t have a Randy Moss career. A lot of people didn’t have a Randy Moss career, but I think my career was a solid one and well-respected around the league.

Moss held a grudge against the Cowboys. In his first meeting against Jones’ boys, Moss recorded just 3 catches, but all of them were touchdowns, besides racking up 163 receiving yards.

Moss went on to have a glittering career. He played for five different teams (two stints with the Vikings). Remarkably, he had six 1000-yard seasons in the initial phase of his Vikings tenure before spending two years with the Raiders. The Oakland experiment ended after just two seasons, and he was traded to the New England Patriots.

In Boston, Moss teamed up with Tom Brady, and in his debut season, he caught 98 passes for 1,493 yards and an NFL-record 23 receiving touchdowns, a mark that still stands today. Sadly, he joined the Patriots during a dry spell and missed out on his best chance to win a Super Bowl ring.

Moss returned to Minnesota for his second stint. He bounced around from Tennessee to San Francisco and retired after the 2012 season. He made 218 total appearances across 14 NFL seasons. He racked up 982 catches for 15,292 yards and scored 157 touchdowns. Moss went to 6 Pro Bowls and was named an All-Pro 4 times. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.

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