Dallas Cowboys Lying About Not 'Drafting for Need'?

“I think we did a really good job of working through our board. We just worked through it and made good decisions.” - Stephen Jones.

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys vowed they wouldn't do it, and did so featuring an unusual declaration.

"No musts,'' COO Stephen Jones essentially announced regarding his pre-NFL Draft roster.

Translation: While the Cowboys obviously were not perfect, and obviously have "needs,'' they were not going to focus on that in the draft. Instead, they would go "B.A.A.'' (Best Available Athlete/Player.)

But then came the actual picks. And a team that came into the weekend admitting it "needed'' a starting offensive lineman, a pass-rusher, a rotational receiver and a tight end helper ...

Drafted exactly those four things, in the first four picks.

This year’s picks have in some cases been criticized as "reaches.'' But in the case of first-rounder Tyler Smith on down - Smith being the offensive lineman who owner Jerry Jones insists was the No. 16 player on the draft board and pleasantly available at No. 24 - Stephen Jones disagrees with the critics.

“Not at all,” he said when asked about having drafted for "need.'' “You look at it and obviously there are positions there where it helps ... (But) it was just sorting through when was the best time to get these players. If the best guy right off the bat is the (offensive) lineman, then take him. If it would have been the pass rusher, then take him.

“I think we did a really good job of working through our board. We just worked through it and made good decisions.”

As always, there is no team that doesn't think insta-that about its performance. Is it true about the following guys?

Tyler Smith, O-line, first round, 24th overall pick

Sam Williams, defensive end, second round, 56th overall pick

Jalen Tolbert, receiver, third round, 88th overall pick

Jake Ferguson, tight end, fourth round, 129th overall pick

Matt Waletzko, tackle, fifth round, 155th overall pick

DaRon Bland, cornerback, fifth round, 167th overall pick

Damone Clark, linebacker, fifth round, 176th overall pick

John Ridgeway, defensive tackle, fifth round, 178th overall pick

Devin Harper, linebacker, sixth round, 193rd overall pick

Cowboys Holy Trinity

2022 NFL Draft

Dak Prescott

For a Dak Prescott-led team that lost last January's Wild Card game to the San Francisco 49ers and has since absorbed the losses of La'el Collins (dump/cut), Randy Gregory (lost via free agency), Amari Cooper (salary-dump trade) and Blake Jarwin (to injury) - Oh, look, that's O-line, pass-rusher, receiver and tight end helper, right in a row! - it is quite a coincidence that the picks "just happened'' to fall that way.

Randy Gregory

Amari Cooper

Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports

Cedrick Wilson

"No musts" does not quite ring true. Nor does what coach Mike McCarthy said about the haul.

“We drafted nine players,” McCarthy said, “so we got a lot better here the last few days.”

Yeah, that's not the way it works - which of course doesn't mean that Dallas' way cannot work. Hey, maybe they just got lucky, "needs'' meshing nicely with the board and with availability.

Maybe.

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Dallas Cowboys? Subscribe to the Daily Cowboys SI Newsletter with Mike Fisher now!

Follow FishSports on Twitter

Follow Cowboys / Fish on Facebook

Subscribe to the Cowboys Fish Report on YouTube for constant daily Cowboys live-stream podcasts and reports!