Stephen Jones sees the draft meeting the team's needs

While discussing needs going into the offseason, Jones said the team's needs align with the position expected to have top talent in April's draft: offensive line.

“I think the draft fits our needs a little bit,” Jones said. “I think the deepest position in this draft is the offensive line. In terms of the depth of the offensive line and the way we approach it, we want to bring young players to the team every year. They match well.”

The first-round talent at tackle and center is deeper than most draft classes, and Jones isn't opposed to taking prospects at either of those positions early in the draft.

“There's a lot of depth at that position, so there's a pretty good chance we're going to get an offensive lineman pretty high in this draft,” he said.

It's clear that defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer will make some changes on defense. What exactly is that?

Jones is different on early downs, with Zimmer's emphasis on defending the run and being bigger overall in personnel on that side of the ball, and solving problems that plagued most of last season's losses. He talked about the formation he adopted.

“I think Jim's philosophy in general is he's going to play with bigger players,” he said. “We played with three safeties and two linebackers, but from what I see right now, I think it looks like Jim will play in a first-down and second-down scenario with three linebackers.”

Jerry Jones said Sunday he wouldn't rule out the idea of ​​Tyler Smith moving forward at left tackle. With that in mind, Stephen Jones said a decision likely won't be made until after the draft.

“That's probably true,” he said. “At the end of the day, versatility is very important, and when you have a player like Tyler who has proven he can play at a high level at both tackle and guard, that gives you versatility.”

The Cowboys have seven picks in the draft, but no fourth-round pick, so the team could potentially trade back in the first round to get more picks in the draft. be. That scenario still exists, but teams are insisting on being flexible on draft night.

“When the draft rolls around, I have to play as an option quarterback,” he said. “We're starting to see how things are going to go down. We're also early on in terms of what the board is going to look like. Overall, especially moving in the draft, and we're starting We're late in the round, but we're not.'' Really look at those opportunities until the first half of the board falls and we know where we sit. ”

With the departures of Jonathan Hankins and Neville Gallimore, the Cowboys are left with just one defensive tackle from last season's 53-man roster, 2023 first-round pick Maji Smith. This position was a big focus of the offseason, and Coach Jones expects to work on it throughout the second half of the offseason.

“I think we'll get another year with Mazi, and I know Jim is looking forward to working with him. I think Mazi will step up and become a really good football player,” he said. said. “Usually there's a big defensive tackle there who can pick him up. I know the Eagles picked him up late in the game a few years ago. I feel like there's some opportunity to add depth at that position as well. 'And the race to camp. ”