What I think happened at 10

[CouchCoach]

An excellent supposition of what happened and why. The Jones boys rarely seem to think past the next opportunity to sell jerseys.

I’m hard pressed to remember a time since Jerry took complete control of the draft when he cobbled a trade together involving big acquisitions of draft capital for future years. As you said, he seems either incapable or unwilling to consider long term value. I literally don’t think he’s capable of long term roster building.

The definition of "future" is different for a 40 year old man as opposed to a 78 year old man. It's not just a man facing his mortality but a myriad of other things that can rob him of his essence.

Booger and I share one trait, we do not want to wait for it to happen. We lack patience and I can't speak for him but I got damned tired of waiting for patience to show up. I confused patience with just being tired. I only care about this season. What happens is subsequent seasons only matters when that gets here.

Booger is so obsessed with being relevant that any long term plan is a waste. He didn't want to start over with another QB and he was willing to do whatever was necessary to avoid doing that. I think if the Cowboys ever get to the point of a true rebuild, he will hang it up. Takes too long and the spotlight isn't bright enough on rebuilding teams.

 

[CouchCoach]

Yes, this is what I am saying basically. But Jerry is acting like they pulled off some kind of draft coup by getting the guy they wanted all along. Parsons was a consolation pick.

He is the master spinner of the NFL. Never lost a game, the clock just ran out early. Forget the score, I win.

Ever heard any owner of any sports team use the words "moral victory", except one?

 

[Sydla]

I don't know...i am starting to think that Parsons was the target all along based on what is coming out. He was the highest-rated defensive player on the board for them, the info coming out that they were considering moving to 6 for HIM, not the corners.

The fact that he was one of the "dawgs" up high, along with Horn.

I see their order of preference as Parsons, Horn, Surtain...imo.

I love what they did.

They wanted either CB first. Then Parsons. That was pretty obvious. Just because Parsons was tops on their defensive board, doesn't mean all that much. Maybe he was just a hair above Surtain, for example and they thought the gap between Surtain and the 2nd round batch of CBs was greater than differences at LB.

K.I.S.S.

They wanted one of the CBs. When both were gone and they surveyed the landscape, they realized that they could make a disappointing situation better if they could get a pick or two more. They looked around and knew the Giants and Eagles weren't going to go with Parsons, so they traded down, got the extra pick given Philly wanting to get in front of the Giants and the rest is history.

 

[CT Dal Fan]

Right before the draft we started to hear about the Cowboys wanting "alpha dogs" on defense and then Parson's name started to quietly surface. But nobody noticed with all the buzz surrounding the "Surtain or Horn?" debate.

I agree with those that say Parsons was probably Dallas' target all along; and they even got a bonus 3rd round pick in the process.

 

[Flamma]

You have to wonder what Denver was thinking. Do they have a plan for a QB? How often are you going to have a chance at a decent QB with pick #9?

 

[CT Dal Fan]

You have to wonder what Denver was thinking. Do they have a plan for a QB? How often are you going to have a chance at a decent QB with pick #9?

I agree. They will be roasted for the Surtain pick if Justin Fields or Mac Jones turn into superstars and Drew Lock flames out of the league.

 

[Flamma]

I agree. They will be roasted for the Surtain pick if Justin Fields or Mac Jones turn into superstars and Drew Lock flames out of the league.

Roasted like the peppers I'm going to have with my cheese steak for the day two draft. Maybe they're hoping to lure Rodgers over there? They have a pretty good team minus the quarterback.

 

[CT Dal Fan]

Roasted like the peppers I'm going to have with my cheese steak for the day two draft. Maybe they're hoping to lure Rodgers over there? They have a pretty good team minus the quarterback.

Excellent draft day food choice my friend!

 

[CouchCoach]

You have to wonder what Denver was thinking. Do they have a plan for a QB? How often are you going to have a chance at a decent QB with pick #9?

Rodgers is their goal now

 

[Flamma]

Rodgers is their goal now

Good. Get him out of the NFC. Let them all beat eachother up over there. They can only send one team to the SB.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I think at several points in the offseason, the FO had discussions concerning the draft, their needs, what constituted a good day one and under what conditions would they consider trading in either direction.

I think there were 5 players targeted that they had to come away with 1 of them and the worst case was that 4 of them would be gone by the 9th pick. The worst case happened but it wasn't the last player standing they thought it would be.

All thorough the off season, it was about 4 or 5 QB's, Sewell, Pitts and 3 WR's. The odds of 2 of the 3 D targets being gone were remote. And certainly not the 2 CB targets. The Cowboys had Pitts, Sewell, Surtain, Horn and Parsons as their top 5. And were reasonable sure Pitts and Sewell were gone.

Then on Tuesday, we began to hear rumbles that CAR and DEN might be eying the corners or some other team might jump into the top 9 for one of them but not both. On early Thursday, not only did I think they would be gone, so did the FO because they began to consider going up for 1 of them. The worst case scenario was developing.

Trading with the Eagles was the shocker of the 1st round for me but the Cowboys knew they weren't taking the last man standing; however, the team most aligned with Parsons in most mocks was the Giants, that was the risk. The Cowboys knew the Eagles would end up with Smith at 12 so letting them have him at 10 was nothing but a 3rd round pickup for them.

And what the Eagles did was of little matter, the Cowboys were looking at 0-5 on their targets in the 1st round.

I do not know if the CHI trade was offered to the Cowboys but going to 20 would mean they do not get any of the 5 targets in the draft and that is failure. Doesn't matter about the 1st round 2022 pick, since when did Booger look beyond the upcoming season? Just not his MO.

I think Parsons was firmly in that 5th spot and they centered most of their discussions around Horn v Surtain with Booger even making the comment about evaluating an opt out player.

Micah Parsons was the consolation prize, they really wanted one of the CB's and the only other option was to roll the dice on Farley and a 2nd on an injury risk is not the same as the 10th or 12th roll of the dice.

I think there is inherent risk with Parsons with his off the field behavior and that interview made him look as dumb as an email stamp. However, there is reward as well because he can hit and run better than anyone at LB now.

I really do not have a strong opinion about this pick but I do know any team with the 10th pick and facing losing out on their top 5 targets isn't a good thing especially when you consider every person in the free world was aware that the Cowboys needed D more than any other team. In 80% of the mocks, they were the first team to take a D player in the top 10.

Then, as drafts are prone to do, it began to get real 48 hours prior to the first pick and they did the best they could do.

My grade for them, not the pick but for them getting 1 of their top 5 is a solid A.

What interview and why?

 

[Irvin88_4life]

I don't know. No one knows for sure. But I am saying that the Cowboys make no sense if Parsons was their target. For one thing, they claim they tried to trade up to 6. That wasn't for Parsons. Because if it was then it was stupid, especially since they then traded down from 10 after the 2 CBs were gone. So that there tells us the CBs were higher on their target list than Parsons. The signs are all there. Parsons was not the target and Jerry was just blowing smoke up everyone's butts because he didn't get who he really wanted. I have no doubt the Parsons was high on their draft board, but don't tell me he was their top defensive target. That is just total BS.

That doesn't tell you anything by trading down.

They knew Eagles and Giants wanted offense especially receiver. Most likely heard from Chicago knowing they wanted to trade up for a QB....... that tells us they didn't want to trade back to far and miss Parsons.

Like I said before, Jane Slater said Parsons before the draft even started.

 

[Typhus]

Should have traded up for Sewell or took Slater.
The injury bug will re-appear for Smith, Collins or both and the lack of quality OT depth will be exposed again.

We got 10 more pics brother.
Just getting started.

 

[Pentagruel]

I think the two CB’s, Horn and Surtain were their primary targets because they were both significant talents and a significant need for the team. I do believe the cowboys were a bit deflated when they went off the board back to back just before their pick, especially considering Denver kind of needs a QB and there was a high rated one still available for them. I also believe they rated Parsons very highly, perhaps higher as a player then either of the CB’s, but both as a position of lesser need, and as a player with more potential flags.

Considering that, I believe they are both disappointed they didn’t land one of their two coveted targets, but satisfied that they landed another player they rated highly, albeit with more risk, and managed to snag an extra 3rd round pick in the process.

I personally think they did a good job with the hand they were dealt. I preferred one of the two CB’s but unfortunately that was not to be. I also think Parsons can be a spectacular player if everything comes up aces, but I believe there is more risk involved in him fulfilling his potential. The coaching staff will need to excel and put him in the best situation possible both to expand his capabilities as a player (pass coverage for example), and to ensure that mentally he stays focused on his career.

Lastly, I don’t think the giants trade with the bears was realistic for the cowboys. The bears’ pick was not high enough to land Parsons, a player they clearly rated. It basically meant conceding this year to improve next year. I think they made the right choice. One pick at 10-12 is often more valuable then 2 picks around 20-25, unless there is no one on the board left that you really rate at a position of need.