NFL General Managers took Jerry Jones to school during draft

shoop

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NFL General Managers took Jerry Jones to school during draft

By
Richard Paolinelli

May 3, 2023
Prior to last weekend's NFL Draft the Cowboys' front office held a press conference. The Cowboys didn't really go into any details on their draft plans of course. But leave it to Jerry Jones to make news anyway.

Toward the end he was asked about Vice President of Player Personnel Will McClay, a man who would make a fantastic general manager for any NFL team. He really should be the Cowboys' General Manager already.

“I can't make him the general manager,” Jones answered in response to a question about McClay. “We have one.”

And therein lies the problem. The Cowboys do have a general manager – and arguably the worst one in the NFL. Jerry Jones. The most damning evidence against Jones in that role was on display over this last weekend's draft.

In a draft that saw a record 41 trades made, the Cowboys were involved in just one – sending a 2024 fifth round pick to Kansas City in return for the first pick of this year's sixth round. They selected defensive back Eric Scott. But look at what a lot of other teams were doing.

Buffalo brazenly swiped Dalton Kincaid out of Dallas' grasp, trading up to the 25th pick to grab him one pick before the Cowboys turn. If Kincaid was truly Dallas' top target they should have done what the Bills did and moved up.


Philadelphia, Houston, Detroit and Arizona were wheeling and dealing at breakneck speed, especially on Thursday. All four of those teams vastly improved themselves with solid trades and draft picks.

DALLAS FIDDLED WHILE THE NFL BURNED
The same cannot be said of Dallas. Yes, they filled some holes, but not nearly as well as they could have. For the most part they sat around and watched everyone else enrich themselves.

The other issue from the draft came in the second round and underscores why McClay needs to have the title – and the authority – of General Manager at The Star. While I don't have an inside pipeline to the war room, I find it hard to believe that McClay made the call to draft Luke Schoonmaker in the second round.


That pick has Jerry Jones written all over it. The last three tight ends the Cowboys have drafted in the second round have been: Gavin Escobar, Martellus Bennett, and Anthony Fasano.

This was back when Jerry had full control of the draft board. How did they work out again?

PATIENCE DRAFTING TIGHT ENDS HAS PAID OFF
When they have waited – with McClay having a say — they've drafted Jason Witten (3rd), Dalton Schultz (4th), and Jake Ferguson (4th). I'd bet lunch that Jerry weighed in and pushed for yet another ill-advised second-round tight end pick.


As my colleague here, Jermaine Arvie, pointed out, Jones' ham-handed handling of trading Amari Cooper led to a trade that should never have happened. It was also one that yielded very little in return given what Dallas gave up to get him in the first place.
Toss in many unwise contract decisions – over-paying some players, keeping players too long, etc. – and the weakest link in the Cowboys' organization is exposed. The man signing the checks isn't a very good general manager. The only reason why he hasn't been fired already, is because he's the owner too.

THE AL DAVIS OF DALLAS
Basically, he's the Al Davis of Dallas. Riding the coattails of early glory and unable to see he's holding the franchise back. Remember the JaMarcus Russell fiasco in Oakland?

In the case of the Raiders, Al's son took over following Al's death. Mark Davis is doing his best to prove he's as bad as his dad was in his final decade at the helm.

The Cowboys have Stephen Jones in line to take over once his dad cedes control. Here's hoping that either before Jerry turns over the reins, or when Stephen takes over, they realize what the rest of us already know.

The Dallas Cowboys need a general manager whose last name isn't Jones. It needs to be Will McClay before some other NFL organization lures him away from Dallas

 

shoop

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Nothing we don’t already know. Just nice to see it in print.
 

Simpleton

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This is almost entirely bullshit speculation, like "oh it's hard to believe McClay signed off on Schoonmaker".

No, it's not, Jerry doesn't do shit nowadays except run his mouth and do whatever Stephen/McClay tell him to do. When we were on the clock he said that "he'd hate to lose one of those two (our top two - meaning Bergeron and Mazi)", you think Jerry has any idea who the fuck Matt Bergeron is?

And even those past TE picks were on the coaches more or less. Garrett was pining for a TE in 2013 when they took Escobar after missing on Eifert, Fasano was a pure Parcells pick, Bennett is a little more unclear.

There is a 100000% chance McClay was on board with the Schoonmaker pick.

And reading between the lines, they would've taken Mazi over Kincaid. The way McClay talked about how rare Mazi was in terms of how they usually rank DT's, combined with the fact that they're so high on Schoonmaker because of his ability to contribute right away (i.e. he can block), tells me they wouldn't have taken a guy like Kincaid who is average to poor as a blocker over Mazi.
 

Simpleton

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Oh, and anybody who talks shit about the Mazi pick can kiss my whole ass. He's the final piece to what should be an absolutely elite defense, he's exactly what Cowboys fans have been pining after for years and there's very little chance he outright busts.

To me his range of outcomes is basically very good 2-down run-stuffer (floor) to Dexter Lawrence (ceiling).

It's fine to be lukewarm on the pick, I can see how some might be concerned that he's only a 2-down player (I'm not because I think that role is extremely valuable especially given our current roster) but anybody who is up in arms over missing out on broke back Kincaid for him can fuck right off.
 

Newt

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Oh, and anybody who talks shit about the Mazi pick can kiss my whole ass. He's the final piece to what should be an absolutely elite defense, he's exactly what Cowboys fans have been pining after for years and there's very little chance he outright busts.

To me his range of outcomes is basically very good 2-down run-stuffer (floor) to Dexter Lawrence (ceiling).

It's fine to be lukewarm on the pick, I can see how some might be concerned that he's only a 2-down player (I'm not because I think that role is extremely valuable especially given our current roster) but anybody who is up in arms over missing out on broke back Kincaid for him can fuck right off.
Sometimes, when I think the whole world has gone batshit crazy, I come here to read your posts.

Props, you magnificent son of a bitch.
 

Newt

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Texas Ace

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The Dallas Cowboys need a general manager whose last name isn't Jones. It needs to be Will McClay before some other NFL organization lures him away from Dallas
Not gonna happen -- the Texans already tried.

He basically is the GM just without the title. And to keep him around, the Cowboys will continue to pay him handsomely.

He's not going anywhere....but it would be nice if he were made the official GM when Jerry's gone.
 

Simpleton

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Not gonna happen -- the Texans already tried.

He basically is the GM just without the title. And to keep him around, the Cowboys will continue to pay him handsomely.

He's not going anywhere....but it would be nice if he were made the official GM when Jerry's gone.
He also doesn't take hardly any of the blame and has complete and total job security, pretty sweet setup for him, which is why he'll never leave.

It's probably about the best we could hope for though so I'm not complaining.
 

Cowboysrock55

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I totally agree with Simp. Jerry has little to do with who is picked anymore. He just likes to pretend that he is in charge. And I didn't and still don't really like the Schoonmaker pick but that wasn't anything to do with Jerry.

It's also funny that the dude somehow blames Jerry for the TE in the second but totally misses the fact that we haven't drafted a DT in the first in like 30 years. What did Jerry fall asleep during the first round or something? Why did Jerry suddenly pick a DT after ignoring the position forever. The answer is simple, Jerry isn't making the picks. The picks are being made by McClay and the coaches.
 

NoDak

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McClay was here and had a say in the Jason Witten pick?
 

bbgun

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Jerry contends that he has "final say," whatever that means. Not sure I want him breaking any ties.
 

ravidubey

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Read this in Google clickbait.

Trash article

He's saying we were "schooled" because we did not burn additional draft capital to draft Kinkaid, but we should not have drafted a TE at all in the 2nd. Which is it, TE or no TE?

Yeah, Philly wheeled and dealed, but that's what teams with extra picks do.

There's something to be said about standing your ground and taking the best players available for your team. Wheeling and dealing isn't free, and honestly unless there's a blatant steal sitting in front of you it is wasteful, like when we did it in the 6th round.

In hindsight I'm glad we did it because we got our RB instead of taking Eric Scott at 35. Had we waited for the 7th we'd have lost all the remaining RB's who could make any impact in 2023, flawed or not. But we burned a 5th to do that, and that is serious capital in today's game.
 
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