Here’s an interesting nugget coming out of Dallas: the Philadephia Eagles targeted at least four players ranked high on their hated rival’s wish list. According to SB Nation’s Blogging the Boys, everyone except Nakobe Dean took a pre-draft visit with the Dallas Cowboys. And the Eagles wound up drafting all of them: Jordan Davis, Cam Jurgens, Kyron Johnson, Grant Calcaterra.
Should Dallas be probed for a conspiracy? Probably not. There is nothing illegal about being interested in the same players as a divisional rival. In fact, it would be stupid if the Eagles didn’t have many of the same players checked on their pre-draft list.
The Cowboys — cover your ears, close your eyes — have actually drafted very well in recent years and the case could be made that Dallas’ front office is one of the best in the business.
Cowboys blogger Dan Rogers broke it down:
Based on statistics during a 10-year span starting in 2010 provided by Football Outsider data, the Cowboys have the third-best relative draft return whereas the Eagles are in the bottom half of the league. So, if the Eagles want to improve their drafting ability, maybe the first place to start looking is on the Cowboys’ shopping list. Sure, this could be purely coincidental, but just maybe the Eagles are peeping over the Cowboys’ shoulders looking for the right answers.
Philadelphia jumped ahead of Baltimore so it could take Georgia DT Jordan Davis at No. 13.
When Jerry Jones was hinting at moving up & thinking outside of the box, I’ve been led to believe this was the player he had in mind. Cowboys officials love Davis.
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Handing Out Draft Grades for Dallas
The Eagles have been the darlings of the 2022 NFL draft, highlighted by a blockbuster trade for A.J. Brown and a savvy climb up to grab Jordan Davis. But Dallas – minus one awkward moment with Jerry Jones — has been getting kudos for a pretty good haul as well.
Jerry Jones held up a copy of the Cowboys draft board at the presser to prove the Cowboys had Tyler Smith ranked the highest. I love Jerry.
CBS Sports’ Peter Prisco gave them a B+ grade: “I like what the Cowboys did. I was higher on first-round pick Tyler Smith, the offensive lineman from Tulsa, than most. He will be a good player, likely at guard to start. I also liked Williams and third-round receiver Jalen Tolbert.”
And NFL Media’s Chad Reuter handed them a B grade after hyping up their Day 2 picks of edge rusher Sam Williams and receiver Justin Tolbert. The Cowboys walked away with the following players:
Saints Expected to Sign Tyrann Mathieu
The New Orleans Saints are signing All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. Contract details weren’t immediately disclosed.
The Eagles had been rumored to be in on adding Mathieu in free agency but the price tag was probably way too high for a team in rebuild mode. General manager Howie Roseman expressed confidence in the safeties on his roster on Saturday night, specifically starters Anthony Harris and Marcus Epps.
“I think where we are at the safety position — we have a lot of confidence in Anthony [Harris]. That’s why we brought him back,” Roseman said on April 30. “We have a lot of confidence in [Eagles S] Marcus [Epps]. Marcus played really good football for us last year.”
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NFL Rumors: Eagles Intentionally Targeted Cowboys Draft Picks