Stephen Jones Open About Cowboys Draft 1 And 1-A Needs
Follow The Fan: Facebook | Twitter
FRISCO (105.3 THE FAN) - Traditionally, the Dallas Cowboys are notably revelatory when it comes to talking about upcoming NFL Drafts. COO Stephen Jones' opening remarks to the media in Arizona on Sunday for the NFL Owners Meetings continue the tradition.
"At the end of the day, the blanket stance on the defense is the No. 1 priority is get more pressure and right there with it is 1-A, make more plays on the ball, turnovers," Jones said. "We've been middle of the pack to lower in terms of those two categories and we have to improve. And that's how you win football games."
The Cowboys have seven picks in the upcoming draft, including their first-rounder at No. 28. Jones said the approach of picking "the best player still applies.'' Yet he added, "We don't necessarily have needs on the offensive side of the ball. … Our focus is on defense.''
Free agency has stripped the roster of defensive stalwarts Brandon Carr, Barry Church and Terrell McClain. When Cowboys observers start piling on all the other names of players from last year's roster who won't return — 20 Cowboys entered free agency this spring — they should probably heed Jones' reflections there.
"Even though we lost some numbers on defense,'' he said, "some of them we were ready to move on from.''
That "No. 1 priority'' suggests a desire for a pass-rusher — and that might be the case no matter who was on this roster. That "1-A'' is about defensive backs, with safety Church being the toughest loss to easily replace.
But that is the purpose of the draft. And the needs are so obvious that there's little point in Jones being anything but revelatory.
(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
