Stephen Jones admits huge regret from Cowboys’ 2017 draft

The Dallas Cowboys have made some unfortunate NFL Draft decisions over the past few years, and executive vice president Stephen Jones is admitting to one of them.

Ahead of the Cowboys’ meeting with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Jones bemoaned the fact that the team did not select T.J. Watt in the first round of the 2017 draft. Dallas instead used its first-round pick on Taco Charlton, with Watt going two picks later.

Cowboys VP Stephen Jones on @1053thefan said the hardest part of not drafting edge rusher T.J. Watt in 2017 is that he was in “serious contention” to be their 1st round pick. “I wish we would’ve done that.” Jones pointed out how Watt would be a great fit in their current defense

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 6, 2020

Hindsight is 20/20, but this did end up being a terrible choice by Dallas. Charlton didn’t produce, fell out with coaches, and was thrown under the bus by Jerry Jones after being released in just his third NFL season. Watt, meanwhile, has gone on to become an All-Pro selection.

It’s worth remembering that Stephen has saved Jerry from making some pretty awful draft decisions. Not this one, though. They’d both probably like to have that one back.