PFW: Jerry Jones going Hog wild over Felix Jones? Not quite
“The Cowboys love Darren McFadden but will be completely content selecting Felix Jones with one of their first-round picks.”
Over the last couple months, just how often have you heard this statement, or something similar to it? Here’s guessing quite a bit. The speculation of Dallas trading up to take McFadden has lost a lot of steam of late, but check out nearly any well-respected mock draft, and chances are you’ll see Jones saddling up with the Boys. In the latest mocks of five of the most astute draft prognosticators in the business — our own Nolan Nawrocki, ESPN’s Todd McShay, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., CBSSportsline’s Clark Judge and NFL.com’s Vic Carucci — all but Carucci has Dallas taking Jones, and I can only assume the reason Carucci didn’t is because he had Jones going to Arizona at 16.
The reasoning behind this near universal belief that the Cowboys will draft Jones is three-pronged. The first two are quite obvious and make a lot of sense: 1) He’s a great prospect, a cat-quick speedster with home-run hitting ability, and 2) The Cowboys have a glaring need at running back, and Jones would be an ideal complement to power back Marion Barber.
But it’s the third prong that I hear all the time that, quite frankly, doesn’t hold much water. That is, “Jerry Jones would love to take a fellow Arkansas Razorback.” Hence, why McFadden was also such a hot name to go to Big D.
Look, I understand Jerry Jones has a soft spot for the alma mater. He’s an unabashed Razorback backer, but the idea that he would take an Arkansas product over another player the team feels is even a slightly better prospect is preposterous. As an owner, Jerry Jones’ overriding No. 1 concern is the success of the Cowboys, and he’s far too savvy a football man to place school allegiance over his NFL club.
But media members and fans alike seem to state with matter-of-fact certainty that Jerry Jones wants to take a Razorback despite the fact that he has not once uttered a public statement on the matter. Where does Felix Jones actually stack up on the Cowboys’ draft board? Based on his talent, I’d think fairly high, but the reality is that unless you’re employed in Dallas’ front office, you really just don’t know.
Now I can understand the Felix Jones-to-Dallas assumption if history has dictated the move. For example, Al Davis has a long history of favoring USC products (think Marcus Allen, Todd Marinovich, Darrell Russell, the trade for Mike Williams, etc.), and so it’s logical to assume that future Trojans have a leg up on landing in Oakland. But take a guess how many times Jerry Jones has drafted a Razorback since he took over the team in 1989. If you guessed zero, then you’re a winner. That’s right, Jerry Jones has never drafted one of his beloved Razorbacks.
True, you can point to the head-coaching appointments of former college teammates Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer as evidence that maybe he does favor them Hogs, but we’re comparing apples and oranges. Besides the fact that Johnson and Switzer were coaches and not players, Jerry Jones was friends with Johnson and Switzer dating back to their teenage years. While I can’t say for sure, I tend to doubt the Cowboys owner even knew who Felix Jones was four years ago.
Could Felix Jones wind up in Dallas on Draft Day? Absolutely. He’d be a great fit, and would help ensure the continued success of that offense. But to assume it’s a foregone conclusion, well, history begs to differ.
Posted by Matt Sohn
Over the last couple months, just how often have you heard this statement, or something similar to it? Here’s guessing quite a bit. The speculation of Dallas trading up to take McFadden has lost a lot of steam of late, but check out nearly any well-respected mock draft, and chances are you’ll see Jones saddling up with the Boys. In the latest mocks of five of the most astute draft prognosticators in the business — our own Nolan Nawrocki, ESPN’s Todd McShay, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., CBSSportsline’s Clark Judge and NFL.com’s Vic Carucci — all but Carucci has Dallas taking Jones, and I can only assume the reason Carucci didn’t is because he had Jones going to Arizona at 16.
The reasoning behind this near universal belief that the Cowboys will draft Jones is three-pronged. The first two are quite obvious and make a lot of sense: 1) He’s a great prospect, a cat-quick speedster with home-run hitting ability, and 2) The Cowboys have a glaring need at running back, and Jones would be an ideal complement to power back Marion Barber.
But it’s the third prong that I hear all the time that, quite frankly, doesn’t hold much water. That is, “Jerry Jones would love to take a fellow Arkansas Razorback.” Hence, why McFadden was also such a hot name to go to Big D.
Look, I understand Jerry Jones has a soft spot for the alma mater. He’s an unabashed Razorback backer, but the idea that he would take an Arkansas product over another player the team feels is even a slightly better prospect is preposterous. As an owner, Jerry Jones’ overriding No. 1 concern is the success of the Cowboys, and he’s far too savvy a football man to place school allegiance over his NFL club.
But media members and fans alike seem to state with matter-of-fact certainty that Jerry Jones wants to take a Razorback despite the fact that he has not once uttered a public statement on the matter. Where does Felix Jones actually stack up on the Cowboys’ draft board? Based on his talent, I’d think fairly high, but the reality is that unless you’re employed in Dallas’ front office, you really just don’t know.
Now I can understand the Felix Jones-to-Dallas assumption if history has dictated the move. For example, Al Davis has a long history of favoring USC products (think Marcus Allen, Todd Marinovich, Darrell Russell, the trade for Mike Williams, etc.), and so it’s logical to assume that future Trojans have a leg up on landing in Oakland. But take a guess how many times Jerry Jones has drafted a Razorback since he took over the team in 1989. If you guessed zero, then you’re a winner. That’s right, Jerry Jones has never drafted one of his beloved Razorbacks.
True, you can point to the head-coaching appointments of former college teammates Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer as evidence that maybe he does favor them Hogs, but we’re comparing apples and oranges. Besides the fact that Johnson and Switzer were coaches and not players, Jerry Jones was friends with Johnson and Switzer dating back to their teenage years. While I can’t say for sure, I tend to doubt the Cowboys owner even knew who Felix Jones was four years ago.
Could Felix Jones wind up in Dallas on Draft Day? Absolutely. He’d be a great fit, and would help ensure the continued success of that offense. But to assume it’s a foregone conclusion, well, history begs to differ.
Posted by Matt Sohn
posted by The Gryphon at 9:22 PM
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