The Dallas Cowboys opted to grab some reinforcements for their offensive line during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The team picked 24th overall and decided to select Tulsa tackle Tyler Smith, a gigantic lineman who could step in right away and plug a hole for the team at left guard.
The team was quite high on selecting Smith, something we learned thanks to Jerry Jones’ perpetual flair for the dramatic that can sometimes come back to bite him. During the team’s press conference in the aftermath of his selection, Jones explained that Smith was the highest-ranked guard on their board over a pair of other players, Boston College’s Zion Johnson and Texas A&M’s Kenyon Green, by holding up the team’s draft board and revealing it to the media.
To prove to reporters that the Cowboys had Tyler Smith ranked higher on their board than Kenyon Green and Zion Johnson, Jerry Jones showed a copy of the team’s draft board.
Jerry Jones: “I’m dead serious.”
Stephen Jones: “Don’t show them that. … Put that sheet down.” pic.twitter.com/vvj2NV4aEr
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) April 29, 2022
Everyone up on the dais seemed to laugh at it, even though Jones’ son and Cowboys CEO Stephen Jones had to tell him on a few occasions to put the sheet of paper down. Anyway, if you see any team jump in front of the Cowboys before they pick next — the 56th overall pick — you can probably assume it is because they managed to decipher whatever this sheet of paper said and realized Dallas was going to pick a guy they wanted.