IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys exchanged numerous calls with NFL teams about moving down from the 18th position of the first round. Team executive vice president Stephen Jones said there was competition for the selection.
There was more value gained by the Cowboys by moving from No. 18 to No. 31 and picking up an extra third round pick (74th overall).
"Well, you can make a hard quick decision, too," Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones said. "We had gone over every scenario you could imagine over the last few days. These (scouts) do a good job of what ifs, but then we obviously analyze perspective and saw San Francisco there with two (third round picks). So they're certainly candidates to move down and keep us in the range that we wanted to be in."
The Cowboys had first-round grades on 19 players and there were only two players -- projected to be Chance Warmack and Jonathan Cooper -- that were worth moving up into the top 10. With Warmack (drafted at No. 10) and Cooper (drafted at No. 7) off the board, the Cowboys elected to stay put for the moment. When it was finally time to pick, the Cowboys graded Frederick higher than Syracuse guard Justin Pugh, who went after the 49ers selected Eric Reid at 18.
Stephen Jones said the team like Reid, and he most likely was the second-highest safety behind Texas' Kenny Vaccaro on Dallas' draft board. But Stephen Jones said there was more value to get an extra third-round pick than to select Reid in the first round.
When it came time to select at No. 31, Frederick was the highest-ranked player on the Cowboys' draft board. Frederick had a second-round grade, but the team felt justified getting him at No. 31 after ranking him as the 22nd overall prospect.
"Bottom line, we were very true to our grading (players)," Jerry Jones said. "Very true to the grading of our scouts and very true to what we were trying to accomplish. We did draft to our board."
There was more value gained by the Cowboys by moving from No. 18 to No. 31 and picking up an extra third round pick (74th overall).
"Well, you can make a hard quick decision, too," Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones said. "We had gone over every scenario you could imagine over the last few days. These (scouts) do a good job of what ifs, but then we obviously analyze perspective and saw San Francisco there with two (third round picks). So they're certainly candidates to move down and keep us in the range that we wanted to be in."
The Cowboys had first-round grades on 19 players and there were only two players -- projected to be Chance Warmack and Jonathan Cooper -- that were worth moving up into the top 10. With Warmack (drafted at No. 10) and Cooper (drafted at No. 7) off the board, the Cowboys elected to stay put for the moment. When it was finally time to pick, the Cowboys graded Frederick higher than Syracuse guard Justin Pugh, who went after the 49ers selected Eric Reid at 18.
Stephen Jones said the team like Reid, and he most likely was the second-highest safety behind Texas' Kenny Vaccaro on Dallas' draft board. But Stephen Jones said there was more value to get an extra third-round pick than to select Reid in the first round.
When it came time to select at No. 31, Frederick was the highest-ranked player on the Cowboys' draft board. Frederick had a second-round grade, but the team felt justified getting him at No. 31 after ranking him as the 22nd overall prospect.
"Bottom line, we were very true to our grading (players)," Jerry Jones said. "Very true to the grading of our scouts and very true to what we were trying to accomplish. We did draft to our board."
