Doug Free, judging by remarks made to the SMU Athletic Forum on Tuesday, has a fan in Jerry Jones.
“We have had, in a way, a security blanket there for many, many seasons. But everything about that move had Doug Free's thumbprint all over it. He played well,” Jones said. “We've spent some time over the last few weeks looking at a lot of Doug Free tape, just to make sure everybody in the room had a good feel for what we were looking for, how we would improve, comparing Doug's play with the play of other tackles in college as well as with other tackles in the league.”
Of course, Free is being groomed as the replacement for Flozell Adams, who was released abruptly last month. Because of the play of Free, among others, Jones continued that the Cowboys "aren't hostage to any position in this draft." But this doesn't mean they will pass on an offensive lineman if the opportunity presents itself.
“It's certainly possible for us to do it because we're 27, we're real close to the second round,” Jones said Tuesday. “If a quality offensive lineman was there, then it'd be a real consideration.”
To be fair, this is par for the offseason thus far. Jones has refused to rule anything out, with respect to Thursday's draft, including trading up (unlikely), trading down (more likely), selecting a safety, a tackle or, simply, the best player available. Indeed, the team has even hinted at landing a return man, though, in the same breath, praised the job that Patrick Crayton has done in that role.
We have a feeling Jerry, or most NFL executives for that matter, wouldn't have it any other way.
