NFL Draft: How 1-2-3 Lucky Are Cowboys? 'We're Livin' Right'

NFL Draft: How 1-2-3 Lucky Are The Dallas Cowboys With Their First Three Picks? 'We're Livin' Right,' Says Owner Jerry Jones, No Stranger To Good Fortune

FRISCO - It was the early 1990's, and the Dallas Cowboys built by Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson had just won yet another game - though on this particular Sunday they'd played poorly and stumbled into some late-game breaks to manage a win. After the game, Jerry acknowledged their good fortune.

"Boy,'' he said, "were we lucky!''

Jimmy responded the next day by claiming he didn't "believe in luck.'' He could barely spit the word out of his mouth. As if it was a cuss word in church, he completely rejected its usage.

And so came Jerry's Tuesday media luncheon, and one more playful retort.

"Boy,'' Jerry told us with a grin, "were we serendipitous!''

Fast-forward to the first two days of this NFL Draft and consider the good fortune of the franchise owned by Jones, who admits on a regular basis that he's "the luckiest man alive.''

On Day 1, in the first round, the Cowboys entered with Oklahoma wide receiver CeeDee Lamb as the No. 6 player on their Big Board. They calculated that there was literally a zero-percent chance of him falling to their spot at No. 17.

But fall he did. What luck.

On Day 2, in the second round, the Cowboys entered with Alabama cornerback Trevon Diggs carrying a grade so high that had Lamb not been available, Diggs would have been a consideration at 17. The Cowboys calculated that there was a one-percent chance of Diggs falling to them at their spot at 51.

But fall he did. What luck.

And then came Day 2's third round. The Cowboys swear that Oklahoma defensive tackle Neville Gallimore was a consideration at 51, the spot used on Diggs. Could he really fall to their spot at 82?

Fall he did. Of course he did. What luck.

“We’re living right,'' Jones said late Friday night. "It fell right for us these first two days. “It is fun to beat the value at the place you draft them, relative to what’s generally considered value. That is fun.''

Remember, none of this guarantees that Lamb is really going to be the next Michael Irvin, or that Diggs is going to be the next Deion Sanders, or that Gallimore is going to be the next Randy White. It's about projections. Value. Hope. And luck.

"I'm a dreamer,'' Jones said. "What excites me is that if it can happen to you on Day 1 and 2 ... I like to think it could happen to you on Day 3. I can’t wait ... I am going to try to remember what I’ve done the last two days and keep it up (Saturday starting at 11 a.m. CT). I’m superstitious.''

Superstitious. And serendipitous.