Cowboys had no interest in trading up for Derwin James

Most expected Florida State safety Derwin James to go within the first 10 picks of the NFL Draft on Thursday night.

But James kept sliding and sliding down.

The Dallas Cowboys have a need at safety with Byron Jones moving to cornerback, and there had been thoughts that the Cowboys could make a play for the highly-touted defensive back.

But that proved to be more speculation than anything.

"It was very expensive to get up there today," owner Jerry Jones said.

Instead, the Cowboys were happy to stay put with the 19th overall pick.

James ended up going 17th overall to the Los Angeles Chargers, and the Cowboys landed a player they've liked all along -- Boise State linebacker Leighton Vander Esch.

Much like they had no interest in moving up, the Cowboys had no interest in trading down either. They had only 15 players with first-round grades in this year's draft, and Vander Esch was one of them.

Asked about the possibility of moving down, Jones said: "Not within there, he was there with picks to go, teams to go, he was there enough that you didn't want to chance moving down."

Executive vice president Stephen Jones echoed those thoughts and dismissed any notion that the Cowboys would have considered trading up for James.

"We were very comfortable sitting there, and one of the reasons was Leighton," Stephen Jones said.

This story was originally published April 26, 2018 at 11:50 PM with the headline "Cowboys had no interest in trading up for Derwin James."