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Moore: What Cowboys did, and didn't, accomplish in NFL draft
By David Moore Follow @DavidMooreDMN
Staff Writer
Published: 02 May 2015 09:45 PM
Updated: 02 May 2015 11:39 PM
IRVING -- Going into the three-day shopping spree known as the NFL draft, Jerry Jones said the priority was to improve the Cowboys defense, “by hook or crook.’’
That took place.
The Cowboys owner also said he did not consider it a must to upgrade the running back position. Skeptics found that hard to believe.
Not now.
Those convinced the Cowboys needed to find DeMarco Murray’s replacement were sorely disappointed. But the Cowboys did add quality on defense as five of the team’s eight picks landed on that side of the ball.
Throughout the seven rounds, the Cowboys stayed true to their board.
“We tried not to push for a particular need,” executive vice president Stephen Jones said. “We kind of let the draft come to us in a good way and were able to solve a lot of things, take care of a lot of things that we felt like we were short in. I think we really improved our football team.
“At the end of the day, maybe use the term we let the draft come to us. I think the right guys were there for us. Whenever we had a big question mark and started straying away a little bit, we always went back to who was the best player on the board.”
Here’s a look at a few of the things the Cowboys did — and didn’t — accomplish.
The Cowboys stood pat in the second round as Randy Gregory, one of the elite pass rushers in this draft, slid to them at No. 60.
Let’s table for the moment why a player of Gregory’s caliber was available. Think back to last year, when the Cowboys gave up their third-round pick to vault higher in the second round to select defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence.
You can argue there’s a higher risk/reward aspect to drafting Gregory, but you can’t argue which move gives the Cowboys greater value. Gregory is regarded as a better pass rushing talent than Lawrence.
More of a premium was placed on finding a replacement for departed swing tackle Jeremy Parnell than Murray, the league’s rushing champion.
The proof: the Cowboys selected two offensive linemen — Chaz Green in the third and Laurence Gibson in the seventh — and no running backs.
“Running back did not come our way,” Jerry Jones said. “We would have liked to have drafted a running back, but by the same token we didn’t think at any given time we should pass on the player that was there with the running back there.”
The pivot point came in Friday night’s third round. Running backs Tevin Coleman, Duke Johnson and David Johnson were all grabbed in a span of 13 picks from Nos. 73 to 86. When the Cowboys were on the clock at No. 91, they took Green.
The Cowboys never gave serious consideration to selecting a running back for the remainder of the draft.
“We weren’t trying to make a point that we didn’t need Murray,” Jerry Jones said. “That was not the point at all.”
Head coach Jason Garrett takes pride in the discipline the Cowboys showed in this draft. The strongest example of how the club remained true to its board and its priorities is this:
For the first time in franchise history the Cowboys went through an entire draft without selecting a quarterback, running back or wide receiver.
“We were a little queasy about where we were at corner relative to some circumstances that may come up,” Jerry Jones said. “We certainly felt we could have done, if we were able to have a little more firepower against [Aaron] Rodgers in that last ballgame, it didn’t take us going back too far in the season to see that we’d like to help the defense.
“Given something that is totally equal where your preference would be, even though we set a precedent by not taking an offensive skill player, we needed defensive skill players more than we needed offensive skill players.”
The initial overall assessment from club officials is what you would expect.
“When all is said and done, we really feel like we’ve had a great three days,” Stephen Jones said.
Time will tell.
By David Moore Follow @DavidMooreDMN
Staff Writer
Published: 02 May 2015 09:45 PM
Updated: 02 May 2015 11:39 PM
IRVING -- Going into the three-day shopping spree known as the NFL draft, Jerry Jones said the priority was to improve the Cowboys defense, “by hook or crook.’’
That took place.
The Cowboys owner also said he did not consider it a must to upgrade the running back position. Skeptics found that hard to believe.
Not now.
Those convinced the Cowboys needed to find DeMarco Murray’s replacement were sorely disappointed. But the Cowboys did add quality on defense as five of the team’s eight picks landed on that side of the ball.
Throughout the seven rounds, the Cowboys stayed true to their board.
“We tried not to push for a particular need,” executive vice president Stephen Jones said. “We kind of let the draft come to us in a good way and were able to solve a lot of things, take care of a lot of things that we felt like we were short in. I think we really improved our football team.
“At the end of the day, maybe use the term we let the draft come to us. I think the right guys were there for us. Whenever we had a big question mark and started straying away a little bit, we always went back to who was the best player on the board.”
Here’s a look at a few of the things the Cowboys did — and didn’t — accomplish.
The Cowboys stood pat in the second round as Randy Gregory, one of the elite pass rushers in this draft, slid to them at No. 60.
Let’s table for the moment why a player of Gregory’s caliber was available. Think back to last year, when the Cowboys gave up their third-round pick to vault higher in the second round to select defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence.
You can argue there’s a higher risk/reward aspect to drafting Gregory, but you can’t argue which move gives the Cowboys greater value. Gregory is regarded as a better pass rushing talent than Lawrence.
More of a premium was placed on finding a replacement for departed swing tackle Jeremy Parnell than Murray, the league’s rushing champion.
The proof: the Cowboys selected two offensive linemen — Chaz Green in the third and Laurence Gibson in the seventh — and no running backs.
“Running back did not come our way,” Jerry Jones said. “We would have liked to have drafted a running back, but by the same token we didn’t think at any given time we should pass on the player that was there with the running back there.”
The pivot point came in Friday night’s third round. Running backs Tevin Coleman, Duke Johnson and David Johnson were all grabbed in a span of 13 picks from Nos. 73 to 86. When the Cowboys were on the clock at No. 91, they took Green.
The Cowboys never gave serious consideration to selecting a running back for the remainder of the draft.
“We weren’t trying to make a point that we didn’t need Murray,” Jerry Jones said. “That was not the point at all.”
Head coach Jason Garrett takes pride in the discipline the Cowboys showed in this draft. The strongest example of how the club remained true to its board and its priorities is this:
For the first time in franchise history the Cowboys went through an entire draft without selecting a quarterback, running back or wide receiver.
“We were a little queasy about where we were at corner relative to some circumstances that may come up,” Jerry Jones said. “We certainly felt we could have done, if we were able to have a little more firepower against [Aaron] Rodgers in that last ballgame, it didn’t take us going back too far in the season to see that we’d like to help the defense.
“Given something that is totally equal where your preference would be, even though we set a precedent by not taking an offensive skill player, we needed defensive skill players more than we needed offensive skill players.”
The initial overall assessment from club officials is what you would expect.
“When all is said and done, we really feel like we’ve had a great three days,” Stephen Jones said.
Time will tell.