How a mega yacht and Moby Dick gave the Dallas Cowboys an NFL draft class for the ages
Due to the unusual circumstances created by the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 NFL draft was like no other that has come before it. We saw team executives huddling alone or with family in small groups, as they were told to adhere to stay-at-home orders and make team decisions from separate locales.
By all accounts, the Dallas Cowboys had a stellar draft, and the process has left the man at the top feeling pretty good right about now. In fact, team owner Jerry Jones is open about his desire to repeat a number of aspects of the last few days. “Wherever we sat, whatever we did, whatever clothes we had on, we ought to remember that and write it down so we can do it again,” a smiling Jones said.
Of course, that’s mighty rich of him to say, considering he conducted his portion of the draft on international waters aboard his luxurious $250 million mega yacht, the Bravo Eugenia, all with the classic tale of a great whale swimming nearby.
But that also might have been the key to the Cowboys’ genius, according to Jones. “I don’t know why, this situation may bring out the best in me,” he said as he began to weave a tale as only he could. “Moby Dick out there to the right. All of those added nuances just clears your head.”
And according to him, a clear head on open waters is what helped to produce the Cowboys’ best draft class since 2005 when they had two first round picks, led by future Hall of Fame linebacker DeMarcus Ware.
That draft produced starters in Ware, fellow first-round defensive end Marcus Spears, second-round linebacker Kevin Burnett, fourth-round running back Marion Barber, fourth-round defensive end Chris Canty and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jay Ratliff in the seventh round.
“I was pretty tickled when that DeMarcus Ware was at the top of our board with that draft,” Jones said. “I think we had an inkling there that we didn’t know that Ratliff was going to be what he was, but we had a pretty good feeling about that draft. Now, we had two [first-round picks]. I’m not so sure we’ve had one with only one [first-rounder], one that I feel any better about. It doesn’t take much to get me feeling good. Seriously, this is really one of the best.”
And therein lies the difference, which is why team vice president Stephen Jones says this year’s draft may be their best from a standpoint of picking in the back part of the first round. Back in 2005, Ware was selected 11th and Spears was taken 20th.
“That one is going to be an all-time tough draft to beat right there,” Stephen Jones said of the team’s class that year. “As Jerry said, we had two ones. We had an early one. But as far as picking the last part of the draft and moving right on down, this one will be a hard one to beat in terms of resources versus how you feel about it..”
The Cowboys’ first pick in 2020 wasn’t until 17, but Oklahoma receiver CeeDee Lamb was ranked sixth-best on their draft board so they snapped him up.
As for Jerry Jones’ thoughts, he went back and compared his feelings following the 2020 draft to how he felt after the great train robbery in 1989 when the Cowboys sent running back Hershel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for a bushel of players and draft picks that provided the foundation for their three Super Bowl title teams in the 1990s.
“When we first got to the Cowboys, we made that Herschel Walker trade,” Jerry Jones said. “We had a lot of firepower back then and consequently you felt good about those drafts. Really, this time, with the way that things are today and the basic competitiveness that we’ve got in the league, this just feels like one of our best ones.”
First year Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy wasn’t around in 2005, let alone 1989. But his assessment of what the Cowboys did in this draft was the same.
“Definitely, this draft has been different in so many ways,” McCarthy said. “First, just because of what we are doing from a virtual standpoint. We had some fortune with the players that were available when it was our opportunity to pick, and we are ecstatic about the class we put together. It’s a great class. It was great the way it fell.”
This story was originally published April 26, 2020 at 7:57 PM.
