Randy Moss particularly relished his highlights against Dallas

Moss had some beautiful plays against several other teams in that video. So it makes you wonder why he loved his highlights against Dallas the most. And the answer has to do with some draft history.

The Cowboys liked Moss ahead of the 1998 NFL Draft. But they passed on him, and he wound up going No. 21 to Minnesota. Dallas took Greg Ellis at No. 8 instead.

Moss got the sense that the Cowboys really liked him, but they were too sensitive to his off-field issues to take him at No. 8.

“When they didn’t pick me, I was kind of more depressed because [my mom] was more depressed, and I took that to heart,” Moss said in 2010. “That my mom didn’t really care too much about the Boys and just seeing her facial expression and how she looked, I really took that to heart, man, and I told myself, ‘Anytime I play the Dallas Cowboys, I’m never going to forget that look.'”

That’s why even in 2022, Moss is still carrying that chip against the Cowboys.

Moss had a breakout, 163-yard, 3-touchdown game against the Cowboys as a rookie on Thanksgiving. His teams also went 7-0 against Dallas during his career, with Moss posting 35catches for 662 yards and 10 touchdowns in those games.

Missing out on Moss also turned out to be a positive lesson for owner Jerry Jones. Jones vowed never to make the same mistake again, which led him to draft Dez Bryant in 2010 despite Dez’s character issues.