Jerry Jones gives hint about Cowboys’ draft strategy
The Dallas Cowboys may become one of the more active teams during the 2022 NFL Draft.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones spoke with the media on Wednesday about the upcoming draft. Jones didn’t rule out the possibility of the Cowboys moving up to get a player in whom they have a high level of interest.
“I would trade up,” Jones said, “since we’re down as low as we are in those first two, three rounds, if we had a chance to and someone that we had really coveted was sitting at the bottom.”
Jerry Jones said the Cowboys would be interested in trading up in this month’s draft pic.twitter.com/AJbXijPJY8
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) April 13, 2022
The Cowboys currently have the 24th overall pick in Round 1 of this year’s draft, followed by the 56th overall pick in Round 2 and the 88th pick in Round 3.
Jones has a recent history of making trades on draft day.
With the Cowboys’ top choices off the board early in 2021 NFL Draft, the team swapped the 10th overall pick with the Philadelphia Eagles for their 12th overall pick.
The Cowboys selected linebacker Micah Parson with that 12th pick, who went on to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year award after recording 13 sacks and 84 tackles in 16 games. The rookie even drew comparisons to this former NFL great.
It’s been a while since Jones and the Cowboys have traded up in the first round.
The last time the Cowboys did so was in 2012, when they packaged their 14th and 45th picks in a trade with the St. Louis Rams for the sixth overall pick. They used that pick to draft cornerback Morris Claiborne out of LSU.
The Cowboys have faired pretty well in recent drafts. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and cornerback Trevon Diggs were drafted in Rounds 1 and 2 of the 2021 draft respectively, while backup running back Tony Pollard was drafted in the third round of the 2019 draft.
Tight end Dalton Schultz was a fifth-round pick in 2018, while the team selected former wide receivers Michael Gallup in the third round and Cedrick Wilson in the sixth round that year.
Photo: Sep 19, 2021; Inglewood, California, USA; Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports