Todd Brock
April 11, 2024 6:00 am CT
Time is money, as the saying goes, and in the NFL offseason, the meter is always running. Cowboys sack master Micah Parsons looks to be the latest beneficiary of the front office’s stall tactics, as he just saw his next payday take a big jump thanks to a move made by another club over in the AFC. CeeDee Lamb is also waiting for his negotiations to kick in; a look back (and not even that far) shows that history is firmly on his side.
We’re hitting peak mock season as the biz’s top draft guru gives his latest picks for Dallas, we project which position Dallas will address first, we look for linebackers late, and we get into whether Jimmy Johnson’s innovative chart still holds up 30-some years later. Elsewhere, Jake Ferguson aims to make another quantum leap, Troy Aikman is up for some shiny new hardware, and the Cowboys can scrap those September South American travel plans. We’ve got a fascinating look inside the “beautiful mind” (???) of Jerry Jones, and one of the Cowboys’ all-time busts may have finally come into his own on the football field… seven years after the fact. Here’s the News and Notes.
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Mick Shots: Jaguars putting $$$ in Micah's eyes | The Mothership
Edge rusher Josh Allen just got a five-year, $150 million deal from Jacksonville, but Micah Parsons may actually be happier about the news than Allen. Allen is good, but Parsons has been even better. And now (with the help of Nick Bosa and Chris Jones in addition to Allen) the financial bar at the position has been raised just as Parsons gets ready for his turn in line.
Agent's Take: Why CeeDee Lamb negotiations could haunt Jerry Jones after Cowboys owner gave in to Zack Martin | CBS Sports
Remember when Martin held out last preseason and then got his raise after the first exhibition game? Or when Ezekiel Elliott stayed away for 39 days in 2019 and landed a top-of-market deal as a result? Lamb and his agent were no doubt paying attention, and it would be a shock if Jones had the resolve to suddenly reverse the precedent he himself has set. Recent history suggests that Jones should cave to Lamb’s contract demands as soon as possible, before Justin Jefferson resets the wide receiver pay scale.
ESPN's Mel Kiper sends Cowboys OT, RB in latest 2-round mock draft | Cowboys Wire
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The draft guru likes Dallas to go after Oklahoma tackle Tyler Guyton with the 24th overall pick, forecasting him as Dak Prescott’s new blindside protector. In the second round, the selection is Texas running back Jonathon Brooks, who Kiper says has the tools to be an impact as a rookie.
What position will the Dallas Cowboys most likely address in NFL Draft’s first round? | The Athletic
Offensive tackle is still the most likely position to be addressed with the 24th overall pick, but if one of the top centers is there, that’s a decent possibility, too. Defensive tackle and defensive end are the next most-likely options; a wide receiver or cornerback could be a wild-card surprise by the Cowboys in the first round.
9 Cowboys options at LB for Day, Day 3 of 2024 draft | Cowboys Wire
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The club seems content to roll with a Kendricks/Clark/Overshown trio as starters at linebacker, but depth would be a good thing. Friday of draft weekend should be rich with promising options like Texas A&M’s Edgerrin Cooper, Michigan’s Junior Colson, North Carolina State’s Payton Wilson, Cedric Gray of North Carolina, Ohio State’s Tommy Eichenberg, and Clemson’s Jeremiah Trotter Jr. If Dallas chooses to wait until Day 3, there are still lesser-known names worth watching.
Yes, teams still use the draft trade value chart Jimmy Johnson created | Scott Pioli
Do #NFL teams still use the Jimmy Johnson trade value chart created when he was with the @dallascowboys ?#NFLDraft #NFLDraft2024 @GatorsFB @FloridaGators pic.twitter.com/V12ELHEmBO
— Scott Pioli (@scottpioli51) April 10, 2024
How transfer portal helped Byron Vaughns, Jeremiah Lewis keep Cowboys, NFL dream alive | Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Local prospects Vaughns and Lewis might be ex-football players right now if not for two life-altering developments: COVID-19 and the dawn of the transfer portal. Instead, with six-year college careers now under their belts, both were able to take part in “Dallas Day” workouts last week and could soon find themselves competing for spots on an NFL roster.
Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson poised to top 2023's Pro Bowl production | Cowboys Wire
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ESPN picked Ferguson as someone whose 2024 production may well outpace his 2023 numbers from a fantasy perspective. That, of course, would bode well for the Cowboys in real life, too. The offense will have a less experienced WR3 and RB1 than last season, so his security-blanket usage does appear to be set for an uptick. There is, however, new competition from inside the building and a local college prospect getting looks in the draft.
Viral Jerry Jones doodles more than meet the eye? ‘In some weird way, he’s Picasso’ | Dallas Morning News
The bizarre scribbles on that legal pad at last month’s owners meetings? It all truly had concrete meaning to the Cowboys owner, and those closest to him confirm that he’s doodled his way through some of the biggest negotiations of his life. Terrell Owens, for instance, asked to keep the napkin that Jones marked up during the conversation telling him he was done in Dallas. His scrawls from the agreement that ended Emmitt Smith’s 1993 holdout were just as illegible. “It wouldn’t matter if anyone found his notes,” son Stephen said. “You can’t make heads or tails out of it.”
Troy Aikman nominated for Sports Emmy | Sports Emmys
The #SportsEmmys Nominees for Event Analyst are:
–@TroyAikman (@espn @abcnetwork)
–@CollinsworthPFF (@NBCSports @peaco*ck)
–@gregolsen88 (@foxsports)
-Bill Raftery (@cbssports @TNTSportsUS)
-John Smoltz (@FS1 @foxsports)
-Tom Verducci (@foxsports @MLBNetwork) pic.twitter.com/PziitNUSmp— Sports Emmys (@sportsemmys) April 9, 2024
Packers to play Eagles in Friday night game in Brazil in Week 1 | ESPN
Well, Cowboys fans know who they won’t open the season against. The Eagles had already been slated to play host in the NFL’s first-ever game on South American soil; on Wednesday, it was revealed that the Packers will travel to São Paulo to be the visitors in the Week 1 matchup. The game will be played on Friday, Sept. 6 and stream exclusively on Peaco*ck.
Former Cowboys' first-round bust Taco Charlton is killing it in the UFL and achieving things he never did in the NFL | A to Z Sports
It may have taken Charlton going to the UFL in 2024 to finally live up to the expectations that came with being the Cowboys’ first-round draft pick in 2017. He recorded his first-ever multi-sack game as a pro for the Birmingham Stallions last Sunday, notching three sacks and three TFLs in a win over the Michigan Panthers.
