DALLAS — Trades have been made.
Players have been retained.
Next up: the draft.
March was an active month for the Cowboys. April won’t be any different.
Visits with potential draft picks are underway at the Star. Receiver Zay Flowers (Boston College) was on Monday’s list. Defensive end Tyler Lacy (Oklahoma State) and defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy (LSU) are two of the many players scheduled to drop by later in the week.
Club officials took a brief break from free agency and draft preparation to gather in Phoenix last week for the NFL annual meetings. Here are a few thoughts on what was said or learned there about the upcoming draft, the chances that right tackle Terrence Steele will be moved to left guard and whether the Cowboys are really holding a spot open for Ezekiel Elliott.
— The goal of every Cowboys draft in recent years has been to cover positions of need in free agency, to create a pure evaluation and conversation heading into the draft that focuses on a candidate’s ability rather than being driven by desperation or need.
The previous three weeks have laid that groundwork. What position must the Cowboys address in the draft later this month? Name it.
Sure, there are preferences. Running back should rank pretty high. Same with tight end, when you consider how strong this draft is at the position. But finding a consensus is next to impossible.
It can be argued the Cowboys have done a better job of positioning themselves for a pure draft than they have at any point in the last 10-plus years.
“Well, we’d like to think,’’ executive vice president Stephen Jones said. “We always hope so.
“I do feel pretty good with whatever player happens to fall to us at 26.’’
— When Mike McCarthy acknowledged the coaching staff had discussed potentially cross-training Steele at guard, the reaction on social media was swift and harsh.
What are they thinking? Why tamper with a good thing? Steele needs to stay at right tackle, not switch positions in some effort to keep Tyler Smith at left tackle and shoehorn Tyron Smith in at right tackle.
Save your indignation. McCarthy didn’t say this would happen. He said giving Steele some work at guard has been discussed. No decision has been made.
This is the time of year staffs tinker with different combinations in an effort to get their best five offensive linemen on the field. If Steele is this team’s best right tackle, he will remain the starting right tackle. If Tyron Smith, who has missed two of every three games due to injuries in McCarthy’s three seasons as the head coach, remains healthy and beats Steele out, well, then there’s a decision to make.
That decision won’t be made in April, May or June.
Look for the Cowboys to select at least one interior offensive lineman in the draft. Free agent Chuma Edoga should be considered the favorite at the moment to land the starting spot at left guard that opened up with Connor McGovern’s departure.
— The reluctance of Jerry and Stephen Jones to definitively declare that Elliott won’t return has led to speculation that he’ll be back.
He won’t.
The club gave his No. 21 to corner Stephon Gilmore. Stephen Jones acknowledged the Cowboys didn’t even present Elliott with a reduced offer in an effort to keep him. The reason: respect. The number that would make sense to keep Elliott on this roster is one he wouldn’t accept.
“The last thing we want to do is anything that would be insulting to a player, to a great player, like Zeke, who was one of the best players to ever put on a Cowboys uniform,’’ Stephen Jones said. “There are sensitivities when you get into making offers.’’
The Cowboys don’t want Elliott back now.
The club wants him back the day he decides to retire so he can sign that one-day contract to do it with a star on his helmet. They want him to feel good about this organization once his career is done.
“There was no joy when Emmitt [Smith] went to Arizona,’’ Jones said. “There was no joy when DeMarcus [Ware] went to Denver.
“But you look up and there’s a lot of goodwill still between DeMarcus and the Cowboys. You see him around the building all the time. Emmitt Smith you see around the building all the time.
“I think for the most part we’ve worked through these tough situations in a good way and hopefully we’re doing it in spades with Zeke because there’s nothing but love and respect for Zeke Elliott.’’
Now, it’s on to the draft.
“Part of the reason I think we’ve been confident in our system is we are able to take care of a lot of our needs before we ever get to the draft,’’ Jones said. “We feel like we’ve done a really good job of that.
“You’re never going to take care of every last one. You certainly want to take care of as many things as possible before you pick, and I think that allows you to have a really successful draft.’’
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Staff Writer Calvin Watkins contributed to this report.
