Cowboys secure six draft picks, including top talent Caleb Downs, signaling a new, proactive approach from Jerry Jones this offseason.
FRISCO - Jerry Jones vowed to change his ways this offseason, and his Dallas Cowboys transaction list on Friday could be used as more evidence that he's being true to his word.
The Cowboys owner, reflecting on last year's 7-9-1 season and back-to-back years without a playoff appearance, has often this offseason talked of learning from his mistakes.
So ... he approved of the hiring of a new and rookie defensive coordinator - one he didn't know - in Christian Parker. He let head coach Brian Schottenheimer make that call, and Schottenheimer and Parker handpicked their entire defensive staff with the owner's rubber-stamp approval.
Jones also promised more aggressiveness in Tier 1 free agency, and Dallas - while not quite "busting the budget,'' as he predicted - did spend to acquire Rashan Gary, Jalen Thompson and Cobie Durant, while also trading for Dee Winters.
(The Cowboys also took big swings at trading for Maxx Crosby and at signing star linebackers Nakobe Dean, Quay Walker and Devin Lloyd, if you care to count those.)
Along the way, Dallas got signatures from two All-Pros, with George Pickens on his $27.3 million franchise tag contract and with Brandon Aubrey on a deal that will pay him $33 million over the next five years.
And now comes another change of sorts, as the Cowboys, who sometimes drag their feet on signing their draft picks, are busy putting pen to paper with all of them.
On Friday, the Cowboys agreed to terms with six of their seven picks from the 2026 NFL Draft.
Signed up with standard four-year deals are are ...
Safety Caleb Downs, Round 1: $28.95 million deal
Jaishawn Barham, Round 3: $6.815 million
Drew Shelton, Round 4: $5.575 million
Devin Moore, Round 4: $5.569 million
LT Overton, Round 4: $5.169 million
Anthony Smith, Round 7: $4.56 million
That leaves only the other first-round pick Malachi Lawrence needing to be done. And because all of this contracts are slotted, his contract will soon come in at about $20.5 million.
The Cowboys also finished deals with a group of UDFA prospects. That list:
WR Camden Brown
DT Tommy Dunn
T Sidney Fugar
DT Kelvin Gilliam
WR Jordan Hudson
LB Langston Patterson
T Shiyazh Pete
RB Dominic Richardson
TE D.J. Rogers
TE Michael Trigg
DT D.J. Withers
Dallas will finish up this two-day rookie minicamp on Saturday before a brief break and then more workouts that will eventually include the veterans. … all under the watchful eye of a maybe-changing Jerry Jones.