Stephen Jones, Dallas Cowboys won’t rule out taking Texas RB Bijan Robinson in 1st round

Vice president Stephen Jones says the work the Dallas Cowboys did March in acquiring players in free agency and via trades has set themselves up to have “a pure approach” heading into the 2023 NFL Draft, set for April 27-29.

The Cowboys traded for two starters in cornerback Stephen Gilmore and Brandin Cooks, re-signed linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, safety Donovan Wilson and nose tackle Johnathan Hankins, placed the franchise tag on running back Tony Pollard and added running back Ronald Jones and offensive lineman Chuma Edoga in free agency.

“I think it’s pretty well documented that we were pretty aggressive out there and free agency, and I wouldn’t necessarily say free agency as much as just player acquisition,” Jones said Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan. “We think we’re in a great situation to really improve our football team but not being pressed to necessarily to draft for a need or that type of situation.”

To that end, the Cowboys are a great position to possibly catch a falling star in the first round, perhaps Texas running back Bijan Robinson if he doesn’t go before they select with the 26th pick.

“Well, Bijan just had a great career in Texas,” Jones said. “I don’t think I’ve seen a that any set of circumstances, that he’s not a first-round pick. Hats off to him and certainly a guy I’m sure when that first day is over, he’s gonna certainly have a team and . . . you never know.”

What we do know is the Cowboys could use another running back to complement Pollard following the decision to cut two-time NFL rushing champion Ezekiel Elliott.

What we don’t know is Robinson — who is not only the No. 1 rated running back in the draft but is also considered a top 10 talent — will be available when the Cowboys pick at 26.

It’s only a possibility because of the devaluation of the running back position.

Of course, picking at 26 rather than in the top half of the draft makes it a moot point for the Cowboys, who generally will have only 16-18 players graded as first-round picks.

Jones said the Cowboys won’t rule any position out. And if Robinson is there, they won’t rule him out as an option.

“We would never just rule out a position in terms of getting a great player if we had a high first-round grade and he falls down to 26,” Jones said. “A guy with a first round gray down there at 26 is going to be blinking at us.”

And the Cowboys know a blinking light when they see one. They have a recent history of taking advantage of catching a falling star as they did in 2020 when they took receiver CeeDee Lamb with the 17th pick.

The Cowboys had planned to take a defensive end or cornerback but couldn’t ignore Lamb when he was available.

“I go back to previous drafts and a perfect example is a guy like CeeDee Lamb,” Jones said. “It wasn’t necessarily on anyone’s radar that we would take a receiver with the first pick but when a guy like him falls down and we got that type of grade on him, you want to be able to take advantage of that.

“So we just felt like we’re in that situation.”

Lamb has developed into the team’s No. 1 receiver. He has led the Cowboys in receiving in each of the past two seasons, earning back-to-back trips to the Pro Bowl, capped by a 2022 campaign in which he set career highs with 107 catches for 1,359 yards and 9 touchdowns.