Cowboys 1st & 10: Byron Jones, Mock Drafting and Top 10 Stories of the Week
In this edition of First and 10, I update you on the report earlier this week about the Broncos’ interest in cornerback Byron Jones, plus other Dallas Cowboys and NFL stories from the week
1) BYRON JONES, HOT COMMODITY?
That’s what our Mike Fisher relayed to readers earlier this week. Let’s review.
Chad Jensen of Mile High Huddle relayed that the Denver Broncos may be in on trying to lure Jones away from the Cowboys, when and IF he hits free agency. This comes on the heels of a report that the Cowboys’ NFC East rival, the Philadelphia Eagles, may also be interested. Fish has the links to all of that supporting content in his story from earlier this week.
It also bears mentioning that Fish forecasted all of this before the 2019 season even began. Knowing that the Cowboys would be as interested, if not more interested, in keeping quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver Amari Cooper. Now, the Cowboys have plenty of cap space to keep Prescott and Cooper. But Jones too? Fish explored that last year.
I also explored Jones’ importance to the Cowboys in 2020 in my Cowboys Free Agency Power Rankings throughout the year. Jones was consistently in my Top 5, usually at No. 3. Even though Jones’ numbers don’t leap off the page, finding corners with his versatility and scheme fit are hard to find. Finding above-average corners is hard to do, period. And when you find them, you have to find a way to keep them. So I made this point about Jones in my final Cowboys Free Agency Power Rankings:
Jones didn’t have an interception. In my last rankings I wrote that the Cowboys’ depth at secondary could give the Cowboys the freedom to let Jones test the market. I’m not so sure about that now. To me Jones is the Cowboys’ No. 1 corner. But there will be factors beyond his control that will determine whether he remains in Dallas in 2020. I think he’ll get an offer, but I think he’ll also be allowed to test the market. Because quality corners are so hard to get, I could see Jones not returning if he hits the market.
The updates on the situations in Philadelphia and Denver add validity to that. To me, Jones is a player the Cowboys need to keep in 2020. But he will clearly have suitors and his status bears monitoring as we run up to free agency.
2) OUR THIRD COWBOYS SI 7-ROUND MOCK DRAFT
Earlier this week I published my third Cowboys SI 7-Round Mock Draft. In this mock draft I tried something a little different. I took an offensive player in the first round, regardless of the position, just to see how it would impact the rest of the Cowboys’ draft. The results were interesting, to say the least.
Click here to view the third Mock Draft. And keep an eye out for my fourth mock draft come Tuesday, and every Tuesday until the NFL Draft.
And, don’t forget, my previous 7-round mocks are below:
3) POSITION-BY-POSITION BREAKDOWNS
Our position-by-position breakdowns for the Cowboys, and how it could impact the Cowboys in free agency, are now complete. We’ll explore the draft needs further once free agency is relatively complete. But, for now, here are our current assessments:
4) LEE WANTS BACK IN. DOES THAT MEAN ‘IN’ DALLAS?
In First and 10 last week I passed along the story about Sean Lee being undecided about his future in 2020. Well, earlier this week Lee did at least decide that he wanted to focus on playing in 2020 and he told our Mike Fisher that exclusively. Now, for the next month or so, whether Lee returns to Dallas or moves on to another team is the story to watch.
5) ANOTHER FORMER COWBOYS COACH TAKES A NEW JOB
Last week it was defensive backs coach Kris Richard who spoke to Mike Fisher about his coaching future. This week it was former wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal. Our Mike Fisher talked to Lal about the move. Lal is on his way to Seattle. But the really interesting nugget is toward the end of the story. When you find out what Lal’s role was with supporting the offensive game plan last season you’ll want to track that stat with the new coaching staff.
6) CELEBRATING THE COWBOYS’ 60TH
The Dallas Cowboys are celebrating their 60th season in the NFL in 2020 and our new contributor, Richie Whitt, is counting down the 60 biggest moments in franchise history. Here’s the link to the full list.
Click here for the complete list.
7) FORMER QB ABOUT TO GET PAID?
Former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has emerged as one of the game’s top TV talents since his retirement. His CBS contract is up soon and while Romo chose CBS for many reasons, the main chair at ESPN could easily be opened up if Romo wanted to move over to Monday Night Football. Our Mike Fisher had the update earlier this week. And the salary could be close to what he was making as a quarterback.
8) THE FIRST-ROUND SPLASH
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has never been afraid to make a move on Draft Day. But is he looking to make a bold move in April? Well, Tony Pauline at Pro Football Network reported earlier this week that his sources told him that Jones was looking to make a “big splash” in the draft.
What is that splash? Well, it’s hard to say right now. But, our Mike Fisher explored the coverage and brought some context to the report, including the Cowboys’ recent draft reputation that might prove that a “big splash” may be anything but.
9) TWEET OF THE WEEK
Sit down for a few minutes and enjoy.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">EVERY <a href="https://twitter.com/dallascowboys?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dallascowboys</a> touchdown from 2019! 🌟🌟🌟 <a href="https://t.co/PSpvEMaArB">pic.twitter.com/PSpvEMaArB</a></p>— NFL (@NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1228061280918917120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
10) THE FINAL WORD
“Marijuana can help heal people. But the NFL is big business, and they don’t want you around if you make noise. Can’t take a knee. Can’t make a stand. That’s just not a place I’m interested in being around. If people will listen to me and get to know me, they’ll realize I’m not the troubled addict I’m painted out to be.
“I’m just trying to make this world a better place. Marijuana can help me do that.” - Former Cowboys player David Irving, to our Richie Whitt, in this fascinating CowboysSI.com read.
