Offseason moves give the Cowboys a lot of flexibility going into the NFL Draft

What the Dallas Cowboys will do in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft Thursday is anybody’s guess.

They have an abundance of needs, including wide receiver, linebacker, safety, offensive guard and defensive tackle. The receiver position is a well-chronicled obvious area of focus after the release of Dez Bryant, the team's all-time leader in touchdown receptions.

“I think we recognize that we’ve got a hole to fill with Dez,” owner Jerry Jones said. “We certainly know that we’ve got a chance to pick a player, but not necessarily in the first round or even the second round, that will have the opportunity to be in the mix that gives that player a better chance to be playing next year and use a chance to have somebody who has some special skills, speed that can help us out. I think it’s noticeable.”

The Cowboys, who have a total of 10 picks, will select a receiver or two during the three-day draft, which begins Thursday and runs through Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

But with the 19th overall pick, the Cowboys are at the mercy of those picking in front of them and what is left on their own draft board that has roughly 17 players considered first-round worthy.

The Cowboys could trade up. They could trade back. Or they could stay put and take what falls to them, hoping an expected run on quarterbacks forces some quality players down to them.

Vice President Stephen Jones, who has surpassed his father/owner Jerry Jones as the strongest voice in the draft war room, said everything is in play for the Cowboys in the first round as they plan to take the best player available.

“As we sit there in our hole at 19 and watch the draft come to us a little bit, you’re seeing who is going to fall your way,” Stephen Jones said. “And there will be players that will be picked early that won’t be in our first round. That starts to knock first-round type players back to us.

"Obviously, we’ll have a handful of players too who are 1-2s, who are right there at the very top of the second, right on the verge of being a first rounder, who certainly we look at as a good value pick in the 19 hole. But, at the end of the day, it just depends on who is getting picked up there at the top.”

And of course, if enough quality players start getting pushed down, then the Cowboys might be inclined to move up to get their man.

“Who is being picked up there early and how many we have left as we get closer to our pick as to whether we want to do something,” Stephen Jones continued. “And then of course, it also depends on the quality of that player that might be falling.

"If we’ve got a guy in the top 10 and we’re looking up and we’re two or three picks out and we think he can go at any time, then it might push us to make a move.”

Among the players ranked in the top 10 the Cowboys might consider moving up for, if they suffer a fortuitous drop, include Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith and Florida State safety Derwin James. Both are expected to be long gone.

More likely options at 19 for the Cowboys are a group of players the team brought in for pre-draft visits, namely Washington defensive tackle Vita Vea, Alabama receiver Calvin Ridley, Boise State linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, and Boston College defensive end Harold Landry.

Florida defensive tackle Taven Bryan, Maryland receiver D.J. Moore and Alabama linebacker Rashaan Evans. Notre Dame tackle Mike McGlinchey, Iowa guard James Daniels and UCLA tackle Kolton Miller were also pre-draft visitors, but it's unlikely the Cowboys will pick another offensive lineman at the top of the draft again.

The Cowboys will address the offensive line at some point. The Cowboys would be comfortable with any combination of Vea, Ridley or Vander Esch being available or in hollering distance when the draft winds down toward No. 19.

The others could be trade back options in of picking up extra picks.

The good news is the Cowboys believe they have covered themselves sufficiently in free agency to offset the losses of linebacker Anthony Hitchens and Bryant where they can take the best player available all the while knowing they will address those positions at some point.

The main thing the Cowboys are looking for is someone who can come in and contribute immediately, unlike last year’s top pick in defensive end Taco Charlton, who was slow to make an impact.

“We got to have these drafted players,” Jerry Jones said. “They have to be on the field. They got to be playing. We see Hitchens leave. We see Dez leave. We see players come on. They got to step out there. They got to come. They have to play.”

This story was originally published April 25, 2018 at 4:29 PM with the headline "Offseason moves give the Cowboys a lot of flexibility going into the NFL Draft."