IRVING, Texas -- For the first time since he bought the team in 1989, Jerry Jones didn't make a selection for the Dallas Cowboys in the first two rounds of the NFL draft.
Jones won't be inactive for long, though. Not with the Cowboys holding 12 picks Sunday.
The Cowboys traded their second-round pick Saturday, leaving them without a selection on the first day of draft.
The Buffalo Bills acquired the 51st pick from the Cowboys in exchange for third- and fourth-round selections (Nos. 75 and 110).
"It turns out it wasn't hard," Jones said of the inactivity. "Anybody likes to have some results. There are players in the third and fourth round that can get on the field quicker than maybe some players we would have looked at in the second round."
This is the first time Dallas has gone without a pick in the first two rounds since 1980, when its first selection was in the third round and 78th overall.
The Cowboys' longest wait in Jones' tenure before Saturday was 2001, when they drafted quarterback Quincy Carter at No. 53.
Dallas didn't have a first-round pick this year, having dealt that with third- and sixth-rounders to the Detroit Lions last season for wide receiver Roy Williams.
The swap with the Bills was the 53rd draft-day trade since Jones bought the team in 1989.
Jones said it was better to be patient than to use that second-round selection.
"We did not think there was one player there that warranted a second pick," Jones said.
Dallas' 12 picks Sunday include two in the third round and three in the fourth.
Among the players the Cowboys have previously drafted in that range are tight end Jason Witten, running back Marion Barber and defensive tackle Jay Ratliff. And they parlayed some late picks last year into extra choices this weekend.
"We are excited about (Sunday) and what we're going to be doing," Jones said. "We liked our odds better going into the third round."
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
