The Dallas Cowboys shocked the NFL world by selecting Mazi Smith with their pick in the draft on Thursday. Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones recently explained the decision to draft Smith on 105.3 The Fan, per Jon Machota.
“We really didn’t have discussions (about trading up from 26) because we had 3-4 guys that we wanted to have discussions about. If anything, there was a lot more intensity put into the thought of moving back,” Jones said. “But at the end of the day, we just felt like Mazi Smith separated himself from the other 2 or 3 players we were having discussions about, and we didn’t want to take the chance of losing him.”
“As it turns out, there were 3-4 defensive linemen that were picked to finish out the first round. We feel good about what we did, but if anything, we had more discussions about going back than we did about moving up.”
The Cowboys entered the NFL Draft with a number of various roster needs on both offense and defense. Dallas ultimately decided to roll with the best possible player, which helped fill a crucial defensive need.
Offensively, the Cowboys could have used a tight end like Dalton Kincaid out of Utah. Jerry Jones sidestepped the question of whether or not Dallas wanted Kincaid (per ProFootballTalk on Twitter), but there's no question that the Utah product would have fit on the roster.
Nevertheless, Mazi Smith is a strong selection. He will likely be a reliable defensive tackle for the Cowboys moving forward.
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