The Cowboys had an active NFL Draft opening night, but one of those trades raised some questions. However, Jerry Jones is not worried about longtime superstitions.
The Dallas Cowboys were active throughout the NFL Draft, with two trades during the opening night. While that is not anything spectacular in and of itself, one of those trade partners raised some eyebrows across Dallas and the NFL.
Sitting at No. 20 overall, Jerry Jones chose to swap with none other than one of the Cowboys' arch rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles.
Dallas turned that pick into former UCF edge rusher Malachi Lawrence a few picks down the road at No. 23.
On the other hand, the Eagles sniped USC wideout Makai Lemon, who was set up to go to the hosting Pittsburgh Steelers one pick later.
The Cowboys got two additional picks at Nos. 114 and 137 overall, which turned into cornerback Devin Moore and and defensive tackle LT Overton, while also giving up a 2027 seventh-rounder.
Both teams seemed to walk away happy, so why the controversy?
It is a longstanding, unwritten rule that teams are not supposed to trade within their division, as it could come back to haunt them in a big way. However, Jones does not seem to buy in to the superstitions.
When asked about his decision to do business with Philly, Jones quipped, "If you eliminate all the teams that I want to beat their ass, you wouldn't have anybody to trade with, so to speak."
Backing up his father's sentiments, executive vice president Stephen Jones said, "He's helping us do our job, too," in regards to Philadelphia owner Howie Roseman.
"It's just having confidence in what you're doing. I mean, we traded with the 49ers twice already this offseason and they're every bit the rival, in some degree, as the Eagles are," he continued.
"We're doing what's in our best interest and we feel like if we do our job, ultimately, and get the job done correctly, then we're going to go be able to beat them when it really counts. Not who won this trade or who won that trade. It's going to be who wins the game when you're going up against them. And that's ultimately what we got to do," concluded Stephen.
It's easy to understand why there's frustration on the end of Cowboys fans after the stretch that the Eagles have undergone recently, including winning the last two NFC East titles for the first time in over two decades.
However, the Jones duo provided intriguing counters to the age-old mindset that clouds most of the league. This could especially ring true if any, or all, of those picks Dallas received turn into absolute steals.
While there's a chance that Lemon could become the bane of Dallas' existence down the road, it is refreshing to see the eldest Jones taking big swings in the offseason and draft.
Who knows, maybe Jones' antics will become revolutionary enough that other franchises will adopt the high-risk, high-reward mentality and the conversation will turn from how this could go wrong to how it was a game-changing decision.