Cowboys 1st & 10: Bye, Byron And Hello, Franchise Tag

In this edition of CowboysSI.com's First and 10, I dissect the tea leaves our Mike Fisher has gathered regarding the future of Byron Jones, plus my latest NFL Mock Draft and more Dallas Cowboys news from the week ...

1) GOODBYE, BYRON

Our Mike Fisher has gotten pretty darned good at reading the tea leaves around the Dallas Cowboys (he also has mighty good sources, too). And those tea leaves, and his incremental reporting, are leading just about everyone to believe that Byron Jones won’t be back in a Dallas Cowboys uniform in 2020.

I would have to agree.

When the 2019 season started I put together our Cowboys Free Agency power rankings (my last one can be read here). I maintained all season that the Cowboys would want to keep Jones because he is, in essence, their No. 1 corner. But here’s the thing about No. 1 corners on any team — if those players hit free agency, many other teams are going to want them, too.

That’s been the consensus for the past few weeks among Cowboys watchers. It’s not that the Cowboys don’t have interest. It’s that they don’t have interest at the market price for Jones. Cowboys COO Stephen Jones has already called re-signing Byron Jones “a real challenge.” Both the Cowboys and the cornerback’s representatives met at the NFL Scouting Combine last week.

The challenge is the market price for Jones, which appears to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $15 million. If we were talking about Deion Sanders in his prime, we’d be asking what the Cowboys are waiting on. But Jones isn’t Sanders. That’s doesn’t mean that Jones is not a quality player. It just means he’s not Deion (then again, who is?).

Critics harp on his lack of interceptions, and you certainly want a turnover producer at that position. But Jones’ relative consistency at corner — and position flex at safety — has always been a little underrated here in Dallas. All you have to do is look at the rest of the secondary to realize he’s the best player in that room. Period.

All Byron Jones has to do is look at the market to realize he can get paid more than he can in Dallas, and Fish has incrementally reported on that interest the past few weeks. Fish has also provided other analysis on what the Cowboys could go after INSTEAD of Jones, and we’re not talking about stopgap, fill-in options, either. We’re talking about Pro Bowl corners, as this analysis suggests.

The point is, this is the scenario I warned about in my free agency rankings throughout the season — the Cowboys have money, but they also have priorities and they have too many quality mouths to feed. At some point, some of them are going to get their meal in a new city.

Byron Jones looks like he’s about to find that new restaurant. And that will put the Cowboys in a tough spot when it comes to free agency and the NFL Draft because the position will become a renewed priority, perhaps higher than their standard priority of safety.

But the best to Byron Jones on getting paid in a couple of weeks. It just won’t be in Dallas, unless the Cowboys miraculously decide to pay the market value.

2) MY FIFTH CowboysSI.com 7-ROUND MOCK DRAFT

Earlier this week I published my FIFTH CowboysSI.com 7-Round Mock Draft. This is the first mock draft I’ve completed since the NFL Scouting Combine, and I’ll have at least one more before free agency begins. Once again, I ended up with a player in the secondary in the first round. Once again, it’s a player from the SEC. But it’s a new name for Cowboys fans to consider.

Click here to view the fifth Mock Draft. And keep an eye out for my sixth mock draft next week.

And, don’t forget, links to my previous 7-round mocks are below:

Mock Draft 1.0 (Jan. 27)

Mock Draft 2.0 (Feb. 4)

Mock Draft 3.0 (Feb. 11)

Mock Draft 4.0 (Feb. 18)

We are nearly two months away from the NFL Draft in Las Vegas, so we’ve got plenty of other Mocks to get into before then. So stay with us.

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 in April. But, for now, here are our current assessments:

4) IS THERE ROOM FOR RON?

Ron Leary became a fan favorite during his time as an offensive lineman with the Dallas Cowboys. He worked his way up from being an undrafted free-agent to being a starting guard for the Cowboys, and once he hit free agency he cashed in, signing a four-year, $36-million deal with the Denver Broncos. But now he’s about to hit the open market as a 31-year old offensive lineman looking for work, as the Broncos declined to pick up the last year of his contract.

Does that mean there is room for Leary in Dallas, despite the embarrassment of riches on the Cowboys’ offensive line? Our Mike Fisher grabbed an exclusive conversation with Leary to see where the former Cowboys’ head is at going into free agency. The Cowboys have starters, but you never know what kind of depth they might need.

5) AMARI THINKING ABOUT BEING A ‘COWBOY FOR LIFE’

That’s exactly what Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper told 105.3 The Fan here in Dallas earlier this week. Cowboy. For. Life. Will the Cowboys oblige?

The conventional wisdom is yes they will. He led the Cowboys in catches (79), receiving yards (1,189), and touchdowns (eight) and continued his streak of being a perennial Pro Bowler. But, compared to the circus around the long-term deal for quarterback Dak Prescott, the ‘circus’ surrounding what many assumed to be a walk to a long-term deal for Cooper has been, well, quiet.

Our Mike Fisher reported a few weeks ago that there are some inside The Star that may be second-guessing the idea of handing Cooper a long-term extension. And, frankly, the Cowboys’ flirtation with Dez Bryant may be complicating matters, though no one is under the illusion that Bryant is going to reclaim being a No. 1 receiver in the NFL.

But let’s un-complicate this, shall we?

Get the deal done, and get it done before free agency begins or before a new collective bargaining agreement is signed, as it could severely limit the Cowboys’ flexibility to keep him via a tag.

6) CELEBRATING THE COWBOYS’ 60TH

The Dallas Cowboys are celebrating their 60th season in the NFL in 2020 and our guy 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) DFW SPORTS BY THE NUMBERS

Whitt took some time to break down the numbers on Dallas-Fort Worth sports this week — that is, the best player to wear each jersey number in the Metroplex. Click here to see how many Cowboys made the list.

8) FISH WITH MICHAEL IRVIN

Our Mike Fisher caught up with Michael Irvin at a recent Dallas Mavericks game and asked what the Cowboys should do with Dak Prescott, in terms of his contract. And then Irvin got excited. Fish is the only one with the video, so check it out right here.

9) COWBOYS BLITZCAST MAKES ITS DEBUT

Jason Witten on the move? The Jones family on the hook? Dak Prescott on the tag?

Welcome to the premiere installment of ‘The Blitzcast — A Dallas Cowboys Podcast’ by Drunk Sports in partnership with CowboysSI.com. “BigRed” Lance Dorsett and Timm “IndyCarTim” Hamm are your hosts as they discuss all things Dallas Cowboys and the NFL on this weekly show.

In this episode, the boys discuss the difference between the “non-exclusive” and “exclusive” tags, the price point for each one, and which way the Cowboys might be leaning with regards to Dak Prescott until a long-term deal can be reached. They also talk about Witten’s future, the Tony Romo/CBS deal and more.

Click here to listen to the podcast

Our first episode is up! #Cowboys #DakPrescott #NFL #NFLDraft2020 #JerryJones #FranchiseTag https://t.co/I7Qkt80cZz
— The Dallas Cowboys Daily Blitz (@CowboysDailyPod) March 4, 2020

10) TWEET OF THE WEEK

When there’s 27 weekends until the Dallas Cowboys season opener... #CowboysNation pic.twitter.com/0OzfQv1u0N
— ✭Cowboys News✭ (@DemBoyz_News) March 7, 2020

Wanna talk Cowboys? Hit up Postins on Twitter at @PostinsPostcard and Mike Fisher on Twitter @FishSports

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