IRVING, Texas - Just a few days after the Cowboys selected him in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft, Dez Bryant showed up at Valley Ranch for a press conference. Constantly smiling, the wide receiver had the look of a young man with a bright future.
How might this year's first-round pick look in the same situation? If there is no new Collective Bargaining Agreement between NFL ownership and the players union, rookies will be permitted to carry out an introductory media briefing in their new cities, but afterward won't be allowed to have any contact with their new teams until a labor accord is reached.
If indeed a lockout occurs after the current CBA expires on March 4, there would also be no free agency period at the start of the league year. For a team like the Cowboys, hoping to reload their talent base for a return to playoff contention, the uncertainty amplifies the importance of making the right choices when the draft is held April 28-30.
In years past, the Cowboys could fill some positions of need in free agency and attempt to take the best players in the draft. They don't want to change that strategy whether they're able to sign veterans beforehand or not, Executive Vice President Stephen Jones recently said on "Special Edition."
selected since taking Terence Newman 5th
overall in 2009.
"It shouldn't either way, if you really run the draft the way we would like to run it," Jones said. "Our philosophy is now, what we need to do is take good football players, and not take based on need or those kind of things."
So, other than probably quarterback, tight end, punter or kicker, the Cowboys are wide open in the first round, where they hold the No. 9 pick, their highest in eight years. They have one selection in each round and, rotating with other 6-10 teams, they'll be picking in the early-to-middle part of each.
The Cowboys hold their own pick in every round except the seventh, having used that choice in the supplemental draft last summer to bring in nose tackle Josh Brent. Instead, the Cowboys will pick in San Diego's spot in the seventh round, with the pick they received via the preseason trade for wide receiver Patrick Crayton. The Cowboys didn't lose any unrestricted free agents last offseason, so they will likely receive no compensatory picks. The team is also owed an undisclosed late-round selection from Miami in exchange for sending them offensive lineman Pat McQuistan in the preseason.
Starting with the East-West Shrine Game this weekend, and next week's Senior Bowl, the Cowboys' postseason preparation for each choice has already begun. Though scouts for the team were on the road throughout the fall attempting to correctly evaluate all of the available talent, most of the outside focus will be on the first round.
With the deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft expiring Wednesday, the first wave of mock drafts have already rolled in. Mel Kiper, the ESPN draft guru, has the Cowboys choosing Nebraska cornerback Prince Amukamara in the first round, while NFL.com's initial mock, produced by Charles Davis, gave the Cowboys offensive tackle Tyron Smith of USC. Both are among the record 56 juniors and redshirt sophomores to make themselves eligible.
"It's a big pick for us anytime you're picking up that high in the top 10 or 12 players," Jones said. "We've been very fortunate to come out of there with some great players - a Greg Ellis, a DeMarcus Ware, Terence Newman. Obviously we've had some success picking up there high, and we certainly want to repeat that."
While his level of control over player personnel can't be dubbed as the "final say," new head coach Jason Garrett apparently does have veto power on draft choices and other signings. When he was named head coach, owner and general manager Jerry Jones made it clear there would not be a player on the team of which Garrett did not approve. For the first time, Garrett will have more control over bringing in the next Ellis, Ware or Newman, though he says the draft and other matters will be a team effort.
"I do not want sole decision-making power over everything," Garrett said. "There's a reason you have staffs. There's a reason you have personnel departments and coaching staffs. You communicate. You talk. You have people that you can trust, and you rely on to have back and forth on a variety of topics, and you come to conclusions together."
Even if there is no free agency beforehand, the draft is still a long way off, and much will happen between now and then. The Cowboys have to grade the players already on their roster and assess who is a big part of the future, and who must be replaced sooner rather than later. They'll need to be just as savvy in looking at themselves as they are the players in the draft.
"If you have a great season, you're probably a little intoxicated about how good your players are," Jones said. "And probably when you have a tough one like we had, you tend to - while you're going through the grind of a tough season, you tend to get down on guys. … We've certainly got to be careful with that. That's why you've really got to take a deep breath, take a step back, really be fair in your evaluations and don't make quick decisions.
"You want to make sound decisions."
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