When the Dallas Cowboys moved down from 24th overall to 29th, the front office surprisingly passed on a player many expected them to take if available: Duke center Graham Barton.
In the press conference following their first round selection of Oklahoma tackle Tyler Guyton, Stephen Jones admitted Barton was among the players they were hoping to pick in the first round.
"(Barton) was certainly one of those guys in that list of players that we felt like if he were there, we would still be happy to get one of them," Jones told reporters. "But to get the left tackle is a big, big deal."
As head coach Mike McCarthy explained on Thursday night, although Guyton played right tackle for Oklahoma, he did so for a left-handed quarterback, meaning he was still protecting his team's backside.
"The biggest thing was not to go back too far, we kind of knew we had a group of players there that we were going to walk away with and be very fired up, regardless of which player fell to us," Jones added. "The fact that we only had to move back to the 29th pick was a big influence."
Jones revealed the four players the Cowboys were comfortable with drafting in the first round before they traded back, per ESPN's Todd Archer:
- OT Tyler Guyton
- DE Darius Robinson (picked 27th)
- OT Jordan Morgan (picked 25th)
- OC Graham Barton (picked 26th)
Out of those players, only Guyton remained when the Cowboys went on the clock. Although we won't know who was higher than who on the board, it's undeniable that Dallas getting a third rounder in return for someone they would've considered at 24th should be considered a win.
Many trades at that stage of the first round would typically land an NFL team a fourth-rounder so getting 73rd overall makes the Cowboys' first night of the draft feel like a win.
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