Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys eyeing a cornerback, but excited about NFL draft options
In the nights leading up to the NFL draft, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he has found himself in bed awake at night thinking about all of the possibilities that might occur Thursday night.
The Cowboys have 10 picks in the draft, but it’s the team’s first selection and 10th overall pick that has Jones most excited.
After the team’s 6-10 mark last season, the Cowboys have been bent on improving a defense that gave up more points than any unit in franchise history and the second-most yards ever.
With at least eight of the first nine teams looking to take an offensive player, the Cowboys should have their pick of the draft’s top defensive stars when its their turn to make a selection.
And with the expected run on quarterbacks — four could go in the top 10 and it could be as many as five — the Cowboys know their choices will be plentiful in regards to taking a good player or getting a great deal to trade back.
The slew of options has Jones feeling like the Cowboys are sitting in the catbird seat.
“I think that we’ve got a good chance to have a top defensive player, the top, or one of the top, be there at 10,” Jones said. ”I know from the past, that when you start talking about being where there [are a lot of picks on one side of the ball] there is a lot of action that can happen there. You can get a lot of phone calls.
“As far as lying awake at night, wondering what might happen, I find myself thinking about that phone ringing about that time, too. That’s a consideration. We are well-prepared.”
Based on the draft board and their top need, the Cowboys are targeting a cornerback with the 10th pick, with either Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II or South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn as the primary options.
Both have the size, speed and playmaking ability to have an immediate impact on the Cowboys defense.
But surprises often happen, and other possible options include selecting Florida tight end Kyle Pitts or Oregon tackle Penei Sewell if they somehow fall to 10. (After all, it was only a year ago that wide receiver CeeDee Lamb was gifted to the Cowboys at No. 17.)
Both Pitts and Sewell are higher-ranked prospects whose lingering presence on the draft board would merit consideration by the Cowboys for themselves or in trade scenarios with other teams.
Jones said the Cowboys are prepared for everything.
“I think the real thing to do is don’t be stupid over your needs,” Jones said. “Just don’t be ridiculous. What’s exciting about the 10th pick is you could very easily get an opportunity to do something unconventional here. We’ve had it before and we’ve gotten great players by doing that.”
And while taking the best player or making the most of the best situation on the table, the focus on improving the defense remains as clear as it has been since the end of the 2020 season.
The Cowboys fired defensive coordinator Mike Nolan and replaced him with Dan Quinn. They signed seven defensive players in free agency. And they plan to add more defenders with their 10 draft picks, starting at No. 10.
“We all would like to go BPA [best player available], but we’re building a football team and we have a new defensive coordinator,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “Speed is something that would definitely help us as we go through these draft prospects.”
Surtain and Horn fit the bill there. According to sources, the Cowboys’ brass is split on Surtain and Horn.
It is notable that McCarthy coached Horn’s father, former New Orleans Saints receiver Joe Horn, and Quinn has a close relationship with his former coach at South Carolina, Will Muschamp.
Surtain’s father, Patrick Surtain Sr., was also a former long-time NFL player. The gene pool matters to the Cowboys.
“For me, it does. Yes, it does,” Jones said. “I believe in osmosis, sitting around the breakfast table. It works. We ask all the time, ‘Are they a coach’s son?’ It really helps to hear it all day long, every day and have it in your fabric to have been a part of that.
“We make that a point of reference is that Horn’s father played, had a lot of time in New Orleans and was a great competitor. Fair to say?”
Might it also be safe to say that Jones just tipped his hand?
This story was originally published April 28, 2021 at 4:06 PM.
