Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer tips plans for NFL Draft

The Dallas Cowboys seemed close to replacing Micah Parsons with Maxx Crosby.

Ultimately, the star pass-rusher found his way back to Las Vegas after a failed trade to the Baltimore Ravens, and Jerry Jones' team moved on with his plans.

So far, the Cowboys have kept their biggest offensive free agents in town while making some key additions on defense.

That's why, according to head coach Brian Schottenheimer, they can now focus on getting the best player available and being flexible with their first-round selections.

The Cowboys won't reach for positional needs in the NFL Draft 

"I think we did a really good job of setting ourselves up to be able to draft natural and draft pure, which is what you want to do," Schottenheimer said at Texas' Pro Day. "You don't want to have to be forced to reach for a player, that's when you make mistakes."

The Cowboys earned the No. 12 pick, and they'll also have the No. 20 selection because of the Micah Parsons trade. 

Besides franchise-tagging WR George Pickens and re-signing RB Javonte Williams, the Cowboys traded for DE Rashan Gary and signed DBs Jalen Thompson, P.J. Locke and Cobie Durant, among other minor moves.

New defensive coordinator Christian Parker will have the tough task of rebuilding a defense that ranked last in passing yards allowed per game (251.5) and points given up per game (30.1). 

Schottenheimer knows that the defensive unit is still a work in progress, but they may now have a stronger foundation:

"We've added some really good pieces, we've got some good depth," Schottenheimer said. "There's still a few positions that we need to address, that's all part of the process. Like I say all the time, not my line, I think it's Stephen's or Jerry's, but [player acquisition] is 24/7, 365 and it never stops. We're never stopping to look, we're always open for business."

The Cowboys had one of the best offenses in the game last season, and getting a half-decent defense might be the difference between a run at the NFC East and another empty-handed season.