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By Jon Machota 4h ago
MOBILE, Ala. — Cowboys vice president of player personnel Will McClay is at the Senior Bowl this week, preparing to run the team’s draft for a seventh consecutive season.
The biggest difference this year is obvious. His focus has shifted from what Jason Garrett and his staff were looking for to adapting to the needs of new head coach Mike McCarthy and his assistants.
“There was sadness at first because we spent a bunch of time with those coaches over there,” McClay said Wednesday between Senior Bowl practices at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. “It’s a cutthroat business. That’s the way it is. We value those guys, but now it’s another opportunity for us to grow. We’ve been doing the same things for a long time, and now we have an opportunity to continue to grow and hopefully get better.”
Although the final decision on choosing McCarthy was made by owner and general manager Jerry Jones as well as executive vice president Stephen Jones, McClay was included in the process.
Now he’s working to find the best ways to improve a roster that has nine of its 22 starters about to become unrestricted free agents.
“Every year’s a challenge when you go through that,” McClay said. “That’s the way the NFL is made. You’ve got the salary cap, so you can’t keep everybody. We go through and find out what’s valuable for us, who will fit within our parameters and then we want to try and fill the holes in free agency and draft free.”
Starting quarterback Dak Prescott and No. 1 wide receiver Amari Cooper are clearly the Cowboys’ top two priorities. No. 1 cornerback Byron Jones and starting right defensive end Robert Quinn could be numbers three and four, but there’s a considerable gap between the top two and them.
Four years ago, McClay got a close look at Prescott as the Cowboys staff was coaching in the Senior Bowl. Prescott went on to receive MVP honors in the game.
“When we were on the field with them, there was this guy who was always leading his group,” McClay said of Prescott. “The way that he competed in that game showed you a lot about him.”
Prescott’s play improved significantly after Dallas traded for Cooper in the middle of the 2018 season. If the Cowboys weren’t committed to re-signing Cooper, they’d be facing a major hole at the position, possibly needing to address it with their first-round pick. Jerry Jones has an impressive track record of getting deals done with the players he is determined to keep. Prescott and Cooper fall into that category.
Things are much more uncertain when moving to the next tier of priorities.
Byron Jones is arguably the top corner in this free agency class. There’s a good chance he will get offered more money than the Cowboys are comfortable paying him. If he is simply going to the highest bidder, Dallas probably won’t be that club. While he hasn’t intercepted any passes over the last two seasons, the 2015 first-round pick has been excellent in coverage, lining up mostly at right corner. He earned his first Pro Bowl appearance last season while recording a career-high 14 pass breakups.
McClay called Byron Jones a “really good player,” but added, “We have to figure out his financial value and if it fits for us.”
“It’s going to be a tough deal,” McClay said. “You have your quarterback you have to pay, you have a receiver, you have good players. And when you have good players, you have to figure out how to pay them or how to survive. That’s what we do in the front office, try and figure out how to work those contracts and get the best possible team with those guys.”
McCarthy plans to keep the offense similar to what it was last season with offensive coordinator Kellen Moore calling plays. But the Cowboys’ new head coach said there would definitely be changes coming on defense. They plan to stay in a 4-3 base but expect to be more multiple with their packages. This is where the biggest adjustments will likely be coming for McClay and his staff.
Instead of finding players that fit Rod Marinelli’s previous front, the Cowboys could be in the market for some different-looking defensive tackles with Jim Tomsula now in charge of the defensive line. McClay didn’t get into specifics, but they’ll continue to explore ways to continue building around their top defender, DeMarcus Lawrence.
“At the end of the day, we’re going to stay within the same scheme, and we’re going to do things a little bit different,” McClay said. “They might want bigger interior players, so that’s fine, we’ll go look for that. But I think we’re going to be looking for the same type players.”
And those players are those who pressure the quarterback up-front and take the ball away on the back end. The Cowboys finished middle of the pack last season with 39 sacks. They were 10th in QB pressures (149) and ninth in QB knockdowns (49), according to Pro Football Reference.
Something McClay has been often praised for within the organization is his ability to bring the front office, scouts and coaches together and get everyone on the same page. The entire staff had some say in the players that were being drafted or added via free agency and trade. That’s expected to stay the same with McCarthy and his new staff.
“Our process is inclusive,” McClay said. “We want to get everybody together and hear everyone’s opinion. At the end of the day, Jerry makes the decision, but coaches have input, scouts have input. That’s why we feel like our process is very good because anybody that’s been around them, that knows more about them and knows what they’re putting them into, if you pull all that stuff together, we’ve got a chance to build a good team.”
The Cowboys have put together some excellent drafts under McClay, none better than the 2016 class — one of the best in franchise history — that included Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Jaylon Smith, Maliek Collins and Anthony Brown. Those five have combined to start 246 games and make six Pro Bowl appearances.
The 2014 class is probably the next best with Zack Martin, Lawrence and Anthony Hitchens. Third would likely go to the 2018 group that included Leighton Vander Esch, Michael Gallup and Connor Williams.
Something all three have in common is that, like this year, McClay and Co. will be picking inside the top 20.
“We talk about the talent that we have, if we don’t get to where we’re going, that talent’s not good enough,” McClay said. “We have to keep trying to get that better. The execution and the use of the talent, all those things, we have to get better at. But I think we’re going to try to build a strong team with depth and looking for those positions that make an impact on the roster, and we need our impact players to make impact plays.”
MOBILE, Ala. — Cowboys vice president of player personnel Will McClay is at the Senior Bowl this week, preparing to run the team’s draft for a seventh consecutive season.
The biggest difference this year is obvious. His focus has shifted from what Jason Garrett and his staff were looking for to adapting to the needs of new head coach Mike McCarthy and his assistants.
“There was sadness at first because we spent a bunch of time with those coaches over there,” McClay said Wednesday between Senior Bowl practices at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. “It’s a cutthroat business. That’s the way it is. We value those guys, but now it’s another opportunity for us to grow. We’ve been doing the same things for a long time, and now we have an opportunity to continue to grow and hopefully get better.”
Although the final decision on choosing McCarthy was made by owner and general manager Jerry Jones as well as executive vice president Stephen Jones, McClay was included in the process.
Now he’s working to find the best ways to improve a roster that has nine of its 22 starters about to become unrestricted free agents.
“Every year’s a challenge when you go through that,” McClay said. “That’s the way the NFL is made. You’ve got the salary cap, so you can’t keep everybody. We go through and find out what’s valuable for us, who will fit within our parameters and then we want to try and fill the holes in free agency and draft free.”
Starting quarterback Dak Prescott and No. 1 wide receiver Amari Cooper are clearly the Cowboys’ top two priorities. No. 1 cornerback Byron Jones and starting right defensive end Robert Quinn could be numbers three and four, but there’s a considerable gap between the top two and them.
Four years ago, McClay got a close look at Prescott as the Cowboys staff was coaching in the Senior Bowl. Prescott went on to receive MVP honors in the game.
“When we were on the field with them, there was this guy who was always leading his group,” McClay said of Prescott. “The way that he competed in that game showed you a lot about him.”
Prescott’s play improved significantly after Dallas traded for Cooper in the middle of the 2018 season. If the Cowboys weren’t committed to re-signing Cooper, they’d be facing a major hole at the position, possibly needing to address it with their first-round pick. Jerry Jones has an impressive track record of getting deals done with the players he is determined to keep. Prescott and Cooper fall into that category.
Things are much more uncertain when moving to the next tier of priorities.
Byron Jones is arguably the top corner in this free agency class. There’s a good chance he will get offered more money than the Cowboys are comfortable paying him. If he is simply going to the highest bidder, Dallas probably won’t be that club. While he hasn’t intercepted any passes over the last two seasons, the 2015 first-round pick has been excellent in coverage, lining up mostly at right corner. He earned his first Pro Bowl appearance last season while recording a career-high 14 pass breakups.
McClay called Byron Jones a “really good player,” but added, “We have to figure out his financial value and if it fits for us.”
“It’s going to be a tough deal,” McClay said. “You have your quarterback you have to pay, you have a receiver, you have good players. And when you have good players, you have to figure out how to pay them or how to survive. That’s what we do in the front office, try and figure out how to work those contracts and get the best possible team with those guys.”
McCarthy plans to keep the offense similar to what it was last season with offensive coordinator Kellen Moore calling plays. But the Cowboys’ new head coach said there would definitely be changes coming on defense. They plan to stay in a 4-3 base but expect to be more multiple with their packages. This is where the biggest adjustments will likely be coming for McClay and his staff.
Instead of finding players that fit Rod Marinelli’s previous front, the Cowboys could be in the market for some different-looking defensive tackles with Jim Tomsula now in charge of the defensive line. McClay didn’t get into specifics, but they’ll continue to explore ways to continue building around their top defender, DeMarcus Lawrence.
“At the end of the day, we’re going to stay within the same scheme, and we’re going to do things a little bit different,” McClay said. “They might want bigger interior players, so that’s fine, we’ll go look for that. But I think we’re going to be looking for the same type players.”
And those players are those who pressure the quarterback up-front and take the ball away on the back end. The Cowboys finished middle of the pack last season with 39 sacks. They were 10th in QB pressures (149) and ninth in QB knockdowns (49), according to Pro Football Reference.
Something McClay has been often praised for within the organization is his ability to bring the front office, scouts and coaches together and get everyone on the same page. The entire staff had some say in the players that were being drafted or added via free agency and trade. That’s expected to stay the same with McCarthy and his new staff.
“Our process is inclusive,” McClay said. “We want to get everybody together and hear everyone’s opinion. At the end of the day, Jerry makes the decision, but coaches have input, scouts have input. That’s why we feel like our process is very good because anybody that’s been around them, that knows more about them and knows what they’re putting them into, if you pull all that stuff together, we’ve got a chance to build a good team.”
The Cowboys have put together some excellent drafts under McClay, none better than the 2016 class — one of the best in franchise history — that included Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Jaylon Smith, Maliek Collins and Anthony Brown. Those five have combined to start 246 games and make six Pro Bowl appearances.
The 2014 class is probably the next best with Zack Martin, Lawrence and Anthony Hitchens. Third would likely go to the 2018 group that included Leighton Vander Esch, Michael Gallup and Connor Williams.
Something all three have in common is that, like this year, McClay and Co. will be picking inside the top 20.
“We talk about the talent that we have, if we don’t get to where we’re going, that talent’s not good enough,” McClay said. “We have to keep trying to get that better. The execution and the use of the talent, all those things, we have to get better at. But I think we’re going to try to build a strong team with depth and looking for those positions that make an impact on the roster, and we need our impact players to make impact plays.”