Why drafting LB Jaylon Smith is directly linked to the Cowboys losing out on Lynch

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By David Moore , Staff Writer Contact David Moore on Twitter: @DavidMooreDMN


Jerry Jones has finally caught up on his sleep after a restless night of wondering what more he could have done to land Paxton Lynch.

Pundits everywhere have humbly offered their opinions and weighed in with their grades on the Cowboys draft. What more is there to address?

Plenty.

Admit it. You can't get enough. You need something to fill the time between now and the start of rookie minicamp this week.

Let's start with the Cowboys owner.

Lynch is the quarterback who got away. Jaylon Smith is the linebacker the Cowboys hope will hit it big once he's finally cleared to play.

No one connects these two moves. But they're directly linked.

Jones got over the disappointment of losing Lynch with his pursuit of Smith. He views the Notre Dame linebacker as the splashy move the Cowboys were denied when Denver moved up in the first round for Lynch.

Oklahoma State defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah was the primary target at No. 34. The Cowboys then hoped to move back into the second round to take Smith. But when Ogbah went two picks ahead of Dallas, the Cowboys had a decision.

Myles Jack and Smith were the only players with first-round grades still left on the Cowboys' board. The club had already determined it wouldn't take Jack this high because of his health concerns. There were rumblings that New England and another team or two were ready to take Smith later in the second.

Losing out on Lynch the night before still ate at Jones. He didn't want to lose out on Smith by moving back too far. This was his chance to atone for not doing what it took to grab Lynch.

That's why the Cowboys used No. 34, one of the picks targeted to pursue Lynch, on Smith.

Once the draft was over, Jones revealed how much sleep he lost by missing out on Lynch. But here's something else he said in the same breath that didn't go viral.

"Things don't stop turning because you don't do any one thing,'' Jones said. "I got over it real good when we started talking about Smith and what we might do.''
 

MrB

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It's going to really suck if in 2-3 years Noah Spence is getting 12-15 sacks a year and staying clean and Smith is retired.
 
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No it won't. Because we clearly don't have the organizational structure needed to keep troubled players nose clean.

Dallas is too big a party town, and cowboys players are treated too much as celebrities.

Noah Spence would become a crack head here.
 
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Dallas has always had a problem with players and drugs. Going back to Hollywood Henderson, the White House, Irvin, Hurd, every 2016 defensive end, etc.

I'm all about staying away from bad character guys. And Calvin Hill can fuck off.
 

dbair1967

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It's going to really suck if in 2-3 years Noah Spence is getting 12-15 sacks a year and staying clean and Smith is retired.

Smith is a huge question mark for sure, but I never saw the huge allure of Spence and his drug history is worse than Gregory's was. He also had another off field incident recently (public drunkenness or fighting IIRC).

I really doubt Spence ever amounts to much.
 

MrB

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No it won't. Because we clearly don't have the organizational structure needed to keep troubled players nose clean.

Dallas is too big a party town, and cowboys players are treated too much as celebrities.

Noah Spence would become a crack head here.

I can understand that mindset however that thinking is how you end up with Greg Ellis instead Randy Moss.
 

ThoughtExperiment

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Or you could end up with Randy Gregory.

Also, lol at anyone who thought anything had changed with this organization. Or that Jerry wasn't in charge.
 
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MrB

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Or you could end up with Randy Gregory.

Also, lol at anyone who thought anything had changed with this organization. Or that Jerry wasn't in charge.

I have to admit, Jerry showed the world he still swings the biggest dick in the room.
 

dbair1967

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Or you could end up with Randy Gregory.

Also, lol at anyone who thought anything had changed with this organization. Or that Jerry wasn't in charge.

If Jerry was doing everything he wanted, wouldn't they have done the deal for Lynch?

Peter King's story has pretty much a blow by blow of this, and in it Stephen says "Seattle wants too much" and "Does anyone want to discuss further?". The deal didn't happen, even though Jerry has been quoted saying he wished he'd have "overpaid to get the deal done"
 
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