Gil Brandt Reveals Cowboys Were Closer to Drafting John Elway Than Dan Marino

Former Dallas Cowboys Vice President of Player Personnel Gil Brandt said Monday the franchise made a significant offer in an effort to obtain the first overall pick ahead of the 1983 NFL draft, which it would have used to select John Elway.

The Baltimore Colts ultimately opted to stick in the No. 1 spot and selected Elway before trading him to the Denver Broncos for fourth overall choice Chris Hinton, quarterback Mark Herrmann and a first-round pick in the 1984 draft after he threatened to play baseball rather than join the team.

Brandt explained on Twitter the Cowboys' eyes were set on Elway, which is why they didn't take Dan Marino with the 23rd pick. He landed with the Miami Dolphins at No. 27.

Rather than going with Marino, Dallas stuck with Danny White as its starter for the 1983 season. He compiled 29 passing touchdowns and 23 interceptions as the team posted a 12-4 record before losing to the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card Round.

The Cowboys instead selected defensive end Jim Jeffcoat out of Arizona State at No. 23. He spent 12 seasons with the club as a valuable edge-rusher, racking up 94.5 sacks in 188 games.

Brandt, a member of the 2019 Pro Football Hall of Fame class as a contributor, provided an interesting retrospective on one of the best quarterback classes in history with Elway, Marino and the Buffalo Bills' Jim Kelly all landing in the Hall of Fame.

The Cowboys would finally land their long-term franchise quarterback with the first overall pick in the 1989 draft when they selected Troy Aikman, who led the team to three Super Bowl titles.

Brandt was removed from the front office just over a week after helping select Aikman as part of a front-office overhaul that began following Jerry Jones' purchase of the organization that February.