Jerry Jones makes interesting claim about wanting to draft notable QB

Jul 26, 2022; Oxnard, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones at training camp press conference at the River Ridge Fields. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones dropped an interesting claim about his quarterback targets in the 2020 NFL Draft after acquiring Trey Lance from the San Francisco 49ers.

Speaking to reporters after confirming the Lance acquisition, Jones explained his rationale in giving up a fourth-round pick in the deal. Jones said that, in his mind, he would certainly be willing to use a fourth-round pick to gamble on someone with Lance’s talent, even though the team already has a long-term quarterback in Dak Prescott.

Jones then implied that the Cowboys had wanted to look into selecting Jalen Hurts in that same draft, but did not have the opportunity to do so.

This is interesting: While discussing the Trey Lance trade, #Cowboys owner Jerry Jones implied that they wanted to draft #Eagles' QB Jalen Hurts a few years ago had he fallen in the draft: pic.twitter.com/lyJDNA7NwJ

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 27, 2023

“Two years ago, we were looking at the Philadelphia quarterback — I don’t want to call any names, but looking at him. Had he fallen to us there, we would have drafted him,” Jones said. “It is our plan when we can, but it very seldom happens, to have someone of a high enough quality to be there at the right place with our draft pick. This one worked.”

For what it is worth, the Eagles selected Hurts with the 53rd overall pick in 2020. The Cowboys had selected Trevon Diggs at No. 51, a Pro Bowl defensive back in his own right. Jones seems to be suggesting that had Hurts fallen further in the draft, the Cowboys would have been interested in grabbing him.

Hurts has turned into a franchise quarterback for the Eagles, so it’s possible Jones is just saying things to try and make it seem like he was ahead of the curve at that point. To be fair, Hurts going as high as he did was a surprise at the time, so their alleged plans might not have been too crazy.