Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones tripled down on his “all in” mantra heading into the NFL Draft, which left many scratching their heads.
How could the Cowboys possibly be “all in” when they were relatively silent in free agency and still have not reached any long-term extensions with their top players?
The general consensus was that Dallas would select Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton if he were available in at No. 24 in the first round of the draft and then try to take a running back—potentially Texas’ Jonathon Brooks—in the second round.
Instead, the Cowboys traded down to the 29th pick, took University of Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton and then selected Western Michigan edge rusher Marshawn Kneeland at No. 56.
In Dallas’ defense, Brooks flew off the board at No. 46, going to the Carolina Panthers. But the Cowboys then proceeded to ignore the running back position for the rest of the draft in spite of having a glaring need at the position. In somewhat of a panic move, Dallas then signed Ezekiel Elliott on Monday.
Gennaro Filice of NFL.com is just the latest media pundit to be confounded by the Cowboys’ offseason decisions and gave Dallas a “C” grade for its puzzling draft.
He questions why the Cowboys went with an essential project in Guyton at tackle and then notes how high Jones was on Brooks, only to see him go 10 picks above without even making an effort to trade up for him.
Of course, Jones was not the only person involved in all of this. His son, Stephen Jones, also has a major say in what Dallas does.
The point is, no one understands what the Cowboys’ front office is doing at the moment.
Dallas has reeled off three straight 12-win seasons, but it still has not made it past the Divisional Round of the playoffs since January 1996. The Cowboys have stood idly by and watched as the rest of the NFC East—yes, even the New York Giants and Washington Commanders—has improved.
To be fair, Dallas entered free agency with very limited cap room, and it’s not exactly easy to just pony up big money for contract extensions. But what Jerry Jones has been saying has not lined up with his actions, and the Cowboys’ methods over the past couple of months have been, well, strange, to say the least.
Dallas may still very well be the favorite to win the division next season, but on paper, the Cowboys have not gotten any better from last year, when they were routed by the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card Round.
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