Troy Aikman Says Roy Wiliams Trade Could Be NFL's Biggest Bust

I think it may be an unwritten NFL rule, all former Cowboys players speak publicly on all things Cowboys, good or bad, and Troy Aikman may be their ring leader.

Aikman has been publicly spouting off abouth the Roy Williams-to-Dallas trade could be one of the worst ever if the Cowboys' new No. 1 receiver doesn't produce this fall.

"If Roy Williams doesn't turn out to be the player they thought he would be when they made the trade," Aikman said, "I think this would be one of the biggest busts in the history of the league."

When asked to clarify his thoughts, the former Cowboys quarterback really let it rip.

"I just think that when you have the chance to evaluate a player to the degree the Cowboys were able to and then to give up what you gave up, if he's not a No. 1 receiver and not a highly productive player for this team, that's a huge flaw within their scouting department," Aikman said.

The Cowboys sent three 2009 draft picks – a first-, third- and sixth-rounder – to the Lions for Williams just before the trade deadline on Oct. 14. In a way, the trade also cost them Terrell Owens, whom Jones released after the season partly because of the investment in Williams.

Aikman criticized Williams' route running on TV broadcast of the regular-season finale against the Eagles. Williams and quarterback Tony Romo didn't appear to be on the same page when Williams turned around too late and the pass was intercepted.

"I hear on TV that Troy Aikman tried to blame it on me," Williams said the next day. "And that's not me. I'm a guy that stands up. I stand up for my mistakes. I didn't have a mistake on that one."

With Owens sent packing, Williams will have the chance this season to prove that he was worth the steep price. To prove that his trade is closer to the Hershel Walker trade and not like the Joey Galloway trade in Cowboys history.

"I don't think you can give up what the Cowboys gave up for somebody and not make that a sure bet," Aikman said. "This isn't like drafting a No. 1 receiver out of the college draft and then saying, 'Well, we think he's got all the skills to be a great player for us.' He's been in the NFL. He's caught balls in the NFL. They've got a lot of tape on him, and they had the ability to talk to a lot of people who had coached him, played against him, played with him."

For the record, the best and worst trades to date in Cowboys history,

The Minnesota Vikings gave up five players, six conditional draft picks and the 1992 first-round pick to the Cowboys for Walker. The Cowboys converted the incredible haul into three Super Bowl titles.

The Cowboys sent two No. 1 draft picks to Seattle for receiver Joey Galloway. He suffered a torn knee ligament in the season opener and missed the rest of the year. Over the next three seasons, Galloway caught 151 passes for 2,341 yards and scored 12 touchdowns.