Mike McCarthy has changed Dallas Cowboys’ approach to the draft. Jerry Jones likes it.
It was a simple question to Mike McCarthy about the added power and influence he would have on personnel decisions in his first year as coach of the Dallas Cowboys compared to his 13 years with the Green Bay Packers.
But the answer spoke volumes.
“Yeah, I can see right away I’ll be much more involved in the draft and free agency than I was in Green Bay,” McCarthy said at the NFL scouting combine last week.
He said the veteran coach would have more decision-making power than any Cowboys coach since Jimmy Johnson and certainly more than his predecessor Jason Garrett.
How that will manifest itself remains to be seen as the Cowboys are just getting started on making free-agent decisions and are still formulating their board for the upcoming draft.
From a physical standpoint, the Cowboys will be employing bigger defensive linemen on defense with McCarthy, especially at nose tackle. It’s a change from smaller, quicker players preferred by former defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli.
But the thing that excites owner Jerry Jones the most is that McCarthy’s presence will allow them to take the best player available, regardless of scheme fit.
“One thing that Mike has basically emphasized with everybody is, ‘I can change what I’m doing to the skills of the player if he’s a player,’” Jones said. “So he says ‘Get me the good player, and I’ll put him to work in what he does best.’ This is a good feeling to do this. We’re not going to make any mistakes, we’re not going to compromise. So I really would emphasize the best player here.”
McCarthy says he wants versatile players and he wants smart players who understand concepts rather than just plays because it allows them to play faster.
“From what they tell me, the way Rod [Marinelli] formatted each position on where certain guys fit, it’s going to be different here because we’re running a different scheme,” McCarthy said. “I’ve always felt that, when you’re throwing away good players because they don’t fit your system, you got to take a hard look at your system. If the guy is a good football player, he can play for me.”
This difference is a sore point dating back to the 2017 draft when the Cowboys passed on then-Wisconsin linebacker T.J. Watt with the 28th pick the first round in favor of Michigan defensive end Taco Charlton.
Charlton was a traditional 4-3 end while Watt was a pass rush linebacker in 3-4. Most analysts projected Watt, the brother of Houston Texans standout J.J. Watt, as the better player. But Charlton was the better fit for the Cowboys’ scheme.
Watt was picked by the Pittsburgh Steelers and has emerged as a star with 34.5 career sacks, two trips to the Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro selection in 2019.
Charlton was a bust in Dallas with just four sacks in two years before being released two games into the 2019 season. He was claimed by the Miami Dolphins and recorded a career-high five sacks in 10 games.
McCarthy believes in measurables and body types for certain positions. But he is not going to pass up a good football player, especially if he has the potential to be an elite pass rusher.
The new approach, philosophy is music to Jones’ ears.
“It has always, to me, been hard moving away from the best one that’s sitting there to one that does fit,” Jones said. “That just has always been hard. Because I’m living in the moment, I’ve looked at the draft, I see how they are and what they’ve done relative to their careers up to that time, and I just always want to get the guy that’s the best football player up there. It’s instinctively the best feel-good to get the best football player.”
This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 1:00 PM.
