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The Monday morning links.
Derwin James: If Cowboys want me, they’ll have to trade up - Chase Goodbread, NFL.com
One of the draft’s top prospects put it bluntly: if the Cowboys want Derwin James, they will have to trade up for the star safety.
The No. 19 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft just isn’t going to be high enough to get Florida State S Derwin James.
That’s the way James sees it, anyway. The Dallas Cowboys hold that choice, but when asked Sunday about Cowboys fans posting photos of him already in a Cowboys jersey on social media, James expressed confidence that Dallas would have to make a trade to make it happen.
”I think it’s a good compliment, but I don’t think I’ll go that late. I feel like once I come out and show people what I can do, and once I’m done with these meetings, I feel like they’d have to trade up to get me,” James said Sunday at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Jerry Jones foresees college-style offense, extraordinary contract for Prescott - Clarence Hill, Jr., Star-Telegram
Jerry defines Dak-friendly much the say way Dak Prescott did, and just about everybody else did.
Jones said the Cowboys would like to use Prescott’s legs as a weapon a little more. He doesn’t mean more running back, but rather using more of the college style plays that allow him to run and pass.
“I think it’s an offense that lets him be unpredictable,” Jones said. “It gives him the best way to be hard for the defense in the sense of game planning for him. I’d certainly love for him to be able to hurt them from the pocket. We’d love for him to be able to hurt them on the run, and to run.
”We’re not necessarily interested in increasing the number of runs. I think we’ve got a lot more options as far as how to get him on the run in the passing game, and giving him a better pocket and having better blocking. You might say protection, but the way to get that done is to be imaginative in the running game.
”Some of the college stuff needs to be thought about here. That’s a big part of the conversation that’s going on [among the staff].”
Watching Eagles win Super Bowl makes Jerry Jones say: ‘Why not us? What’s wrong with us?’ - Jon Machota, SportsDay
The Eagles finally brought home their first Lombardi in franchise history last month. That is putting more pressure on America’s Team to get its sixth.
So just the fact that they did it the way they did it, really for me, it sure eliminates one of the real excuses. You can say, ‘Well, you just can’t have the kind of depth.’ But they didn’t have necessarily that kind of depth but they had enough that they shifted some of the ability of the team to execute to other parts where they had their regulars, and we didn’t do that.”
Jones then ended his lengthy response by laughing as he jokingly took a shot at himself.
”We got some comparables to where they are, so then why not us? What’s wrong with us,” he questioned. “They got a young quarterback. They got a young coach. They just got a better owner. Not as good a general manager but better owner.”
Jerry Jones: Eagles’ championship puts pressure on the Cowboys - Charean Williams, PFT
Jerry Jones says the Cowboys have “got to do better” this upcoming season.
“I think it raises the bar. I think it puts pressure on the Cowboys,” Jones said, via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “They’ve took it down to the bone and brought it back up and have a world championship, and we’ve been doing the same thing. Where is ours? That’s fair. That’s fair.”
After the Cowboys’ 9-7 non-playoff finish in 2017, they turned over their coaching staff.
“I just reminds me we really were disappointed last year and we’ve got to do better,” Jones said.
Cowboys 2018 Draft: Is D.J. Moore emerging as a realistic option for the Cowboys’ first-round pick? - Cole Patterson, BTB
One of the more impressive performances of the combine came from Maryland Terrapins wide receiver D.J. Moore. Did he put himself in the Cowboys’ first-round pick talks?
The Maryland star was the focus of defensive gameplans each and every week during the 2017 season — and yet, the talented wideout was still talented enough to make defenses pay (a very high 39.5% target rate) much more often than not whenever he got his hands on the ball. Compared to the great Steve Smith, Moore has the speed to turn a short and simple five-yard gain into a game-breaking play. He is electric on quick routes and on bubble screens, and Moore is absolutely deadly in the open field. He is the type of player that could help take this offense to another level. Dak Prescott would surely love throwing to him, and Ezekiel Elliott would certainly appreciate less defensive backs in the box.
Cowboys Search for Skill Players Shouldn’t Stop at WR - Sean Martin, Inside The Star
The Cowboys have more needs than just receiver, and they have the picks to add some quality skill players in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Beyond that, with an extra compensatory pick in the fourth round, two in the fifth, and one in the sixth, the Cowboys should be in the market for a pass catching RB to backup Elliott (and upgrade Rod Smith’s position), a TE that can be a threat in the passing game, and perhaps even a second rookie receiver to round out their class.
Even if all of these “luxury” picks don’t hit for the Cowboys, their offense should be good enough to execute and score points while controlling the ball.
Taking the next step to become the type of elite offense that can carry a team to the Super Bowl (see: Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles with Carson Wentz) is within reach by the end of April for the Dallas Cowboys though.
5 things we learned about the Dallas Cowboys from Jerry Jones at the combine - Jon Macota, Dallas Morning News
Jerry Jones make sit official, Byron Jones is returning to cornerback.
There had been speculation, but Jerry Jones made it official. The former first-round pick is moving from safety back to cornerback.
”With the makeup of where we are, it’s better,” Jerry Jones said. “We’ll get more of what he does the best at corner than we will back at safety. ... That also speaks highly of what else we’ve got back there at safety, too.”
Jerry Jones says Dak Prescott will get an “extraordinary contract,” in time - Mike Florio, PFT
In other Jerry Jones news, the Cowboys’ owner and GM said that Dak Prescott will get an “extraordinary contract” in the future.
Via the Dallas Morning News, owner Jerry Jones told reporters on Saturday that Prescott is “going to get his extraordinary contract.” Until that happens, Prescott will continue to count for less than $1 million per year — and Jones knows that the team needs to be smart about having so much extra salary cap space.
“While we can put the team together and take advantage when he is on this contract right now, we’ve got to be real astute to maximize that advantage,” Jones said.
Prescott is signed through 2019; it’s possible the Cowboys make him wait until completing his rookie contract before giving him that “extraordinary” deal. At that point, however, the Cowboys may have to play the franchise-tag game with Prescott.
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