In 2014, Dallas Cowboys VP of player personnel Stephen Jones had to talk his father Jerry out of using the team’s first-round draft pick to select undersized quarterback Johnny Manziel out of Texas A&M. After listening to the counsel of his son, the elder Jones selected Notre Dame guard Zack Martin with the 16th pick in the first round instead of the former Heisman Trophy recipient.
That proved to be a smart move as Manziel flamed out in the NFL in spectacular fashion while Martin went on to go to six Pro Bowls and is still with the team. This year, with the NFL draft being held virtually, Stephen will be powerless to stop his father from avoiding a similar mistake as the Cowboys owner and general manager will be making the team’s draft pick alone at home, according to The Forth Worth Star-Telegram.
While Jones won’t have any human help, he’ll almost certainly be aided by a signature glass, or six, of Johnnie Walker Blue Label (always on ice). And, while the elder Jones will have direct lines set up to his son as well as Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy and scouting director Will McClay, the final decision will be his and his alone.
I guarantee you Jerry Jones is goin to phuck up this Draft and go viral. pic.twitter.com/ZKK1dRm9ZG
— Frankie Jay (@Frankie_Jay_) April 23, 2020
If he blows it, Jerry will have to deal with Cowboys fans but he won’t have to deal with sore ankles as he has in the past.
“One of the things I’m not going to miss is when I came out of those draft rooms over the weekend, my old shins used to have big old bruises on them,” he joked recently. “That was from Stephen kicking me under the table for three straight days relative to some of our decision-making. I know that we have a serious conference here, but I think I’m going to kind of miss that physical punching that goes on.”
The other @NFL GMs when they find out Jerry Jones is flying solo pic.twitter.com/e9ZRiZZiBm
— gatsby (@Grategatsby) April 23, 2020
In his final mock draft, ESPN’s Mel Kiper, Jr. has the Cowboys taking Alabama safety Xavier McKinney. It’ll be interesting to see if that’s what actually happens with Jones left to his own devices with an unlimited supply of Scotch.
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