The Dallas Cowboys didn’t make too many waves in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. At least not compared to the rest of the NFC East.
While the Philadelphia Eagles were busy acquiring AJ Brown from the Tennessee Titans and the New York Giants were using their top ten picks on game-changing studs in Kayvon Thibodeaux and Evan Neal, the Cowboys kept things low-key, selecting offensive tackle Tyler Smith out of Tulsa at No. 24.
But according to Dallas owner Jerry Jones, this was the team’s plan all along. Don’t believe him? Fine, he’ll prove it.
During Friday morning’s media session, Jones held up a copy of the Cowboys’ draft strategy to reporters in an attempt to show that Dallas had Smith as its highest-rated OT on the board by the time it picked.
To prove to reporters that the Cowboys had Tyler Smith ranked higher on their board than Kenyon Green and Zion Johnson, Jerry Jones showed a copy of the team’s draft board.
Jerry Jones: “I’m dead serious.”
Stephen Jones: “Don’t show them that. … Put that sheet down.” pic.twitter.com/vvj2NV4aEr
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) April 29, 2022
Um. Slight problem here. The draft is far from over and the information on that sheet amounts to the NFL equivalent of state secrets. That notion was all too easy to gather as Stephen Jones, Jerry’s son and the team’s CEO, had to literally restrain his father from giving away the Cowboys’ scouting reports by trying to give the media a better look.
D’oh!
Let this be a lesson to anyone who doubts if Jerry Jones knows what he’s doing. The man is determined enough to show he’s in control he’s willing to compromise the team’s strategy to prove it.
