Agreed. Smith was very fortunate to play for the Cowboys in that era. Unlike Barry Sanders who was a MUCH better player than Smith.
Smith has the yardage record, but those of us older fans who have been watching football for decades can tell you that in addition to Jim Brown there have been many running backs a lot better than Smith who had to carry their teams. Gale Sayers, OJ Simpson, Earl Campbell, Eric Dickerson and Barry Sanders were all MUCH better than Smith. Guys like Curt Warner (the Seattle RB), Billy Simms, Thurman Thomas, Marshall Faulk and Eddie George were at least as good as Smith.
With respect to Daniel Thomas, I wasn't high on the pick, but he showed he could be a good back when he was healthy. I personally think his hamstring injury was mis-handled by the trainers and coaching staff. Hamstring injuries are tricky and have to be given time to heal. This nonsense of playing him every other week was irresponsible. He should have been rested for 3-4 weeks when the injury occurred. Andre Johnson missed most of the season because of a nagging hamstring injury.