FRISCO — Cowboys co-owner Stephen Jones will often remind people that player acquisition happens 365 days a year. There's no bigger player acquisition period, however, than the one we just had.
The Cowboys added seven draft picks this weekend and quickly added 11 more undrafted free agents. A wave of 18 new additions means more thoughts about the state of the Cowboys roster after the biggest and last window for player acquisition.
Here are five postdraft thoughts about the Cowboys.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones gave a task to head coach Brian Schottenheimer before the draft. He told him to make a list of players that he loved in this draft and, consequently, he’d be heartbroken to not draft.
Their first round pick, defensive back Caleb Downs, was on that list. So was their third-round pick, Michigan linebacker Jaishawn Barham.
“We were able to get a couple of those guys — guys that will have a huge impact for us this year,” Schottenheimer said.
It’s worth noting that Schottenheimer’s list was one of many predraft exercises. They did mock drafts to try to foresee the many different ways the draft could go before they picked. They used AI as an assistant.
It’s safe to say not many of those simulations ended with the Cowboys landing Downs.
“We got lucky on that one to be able to do it,” Jones said.
The Cowboys were prepared. They were aggressive and moved up. No doubt were also a little lucky, too — to not only get Downs where they did but Barham, too.
Late Friday night, after the second day of the draft had come and gone, Jones made a declaration. The Cowboys wouldn’t entertain the idea of drafting a player in the fourth round who might have to redshirt.
They wanted players who could make the 53-man roster and contribute this season.
No redshirts didn’t mean taking a player without any risk, however.
The Cowboys, in search of an outside corner, landed a tall, athletic and productive one in Florida cornerback Devin Moore.
Moore was healthy last season, playing in 11 games, but he played in only 30 games in four seasons. He dealt with a variety of injuries during that time. He also had sports hernia surgery after this past season, but he was able to work out at his pro day.
Cowboys vice president of player personnel Will McClay said they gave Moore a “passing” medical evaluation.
"A big athlete that can think,” McClay said. “We feel good about it."
If healthy, Moore is a corner who could compete for playing time early. There is inherent risk because of that medical question, but in the fourth round they deemed it’s worth the risk.
The Cowboys executed a long-standing contingency plan during the draft. They had linebacker Dee Winters as a potential trade candidate for months. The former TCU linebacker came to mind when they traded former Cowboys defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa to San Francisco.
On Friday, after starting-caliber linebackers had been selected, the Cowboys traded a fifth-round pick to the 49ers for Winters.