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IRVING, Texas -- Over the last few years, the Cowboys have had draft picks who weren't ready to start practicing come rookie minicamp.

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Cowboys second-round draft pick Gavin Escobar joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss his strengths as a tight end, the stress of the draft process and the thrill of working with Jason Witten and Tony Romo. Listen

Sean Lee, Bruce Carter, Matt Johnson and Morris Claiborne were just some of the players whose careers were delayed by either post-college surgeries or an early injury in camp.

This class doesn't appear to have those issues, other than running back Joseph Randle, who has a thumb injury. But he will wear a brace and participate in the rookie minicamp in two weeks.

Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones said that Randle most likely won't catch any passes but should be fine for training camp.

The Cowboys can't afford to deal with any more injured draft picks. It's one thing to get hurt once you start working for the Cowboys, but it's another having to deal with an injury before turning pro.

The Cowboys front office talked a lot over the weekend about how the seven draft picks could become starters at some point. The pressure on center Travis Frederick is great because of the Cowboys' decision to trade down in the draft and and acquire an extra third-rounder rather than a second-round pick.

The rest of the 2013 class can morph into a starting role in the future, but there's no pressure to do so now. However, becoming major contributors in 2013 is important to the success of the Cowboys.

In order to do that, this class has to remain healthy.

Where they're picking: No. 18

Conventional wisdom tells us the top six offensive linemen will be gone by 18, depriving the Cowboys of the chance to address their most significant short-term and long-term need. The mock drafts in which this happens have the Cowboys taking a defensive tackle such as Sheldon Richardson or Sylvester Williams at No. 18, and some are still connecting the Cowboys with Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro, since safety is a need as well. Everybody seems to agree that the Cowboys' dream scenario is that they get one of the draft's top two guards, either Chance Warmack or Jonathan Cooper, but no one seems to think either will fall to 18.

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Ed Werder joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett live from Kansas City to discuss Jerry Jones' attendance at the Bush Library on NFL draft day, what he expects the Chiefs to do with the No. 1 pick and tell a funny tale about Bill Clinton and Jerry Jones. Listen

History tells us that the conventional wisdom is wrong. The last time six offensive linemen went in the top 17 picks was 1966, when the league only had 15 teams in it. Guards don't tend to go early, since most teams don't assign top-half-of-first-round value to that position. History tells us the Cowboys will be able to get offensive line help if they want it in the first round. But history also tells us that the Cowboys tend to pick out a guy they really like in the first round (Dez Bryant, Tyron Smith and Morris Claiborne are the recent examples) and do what they can to get him.

They probably won't end up with Vaccaro. First of all, it's possible he goes earlier than 18 (say, to St. Louis at 16). Second of all, their needs on the lines and the comparative value at those positions likely will push them to take a linemen of one sort or the other in a draft whose second round is packed with starting-caliber safeties. Sure, it's possible Vaccaro is this year's Jerry Jones crush and there's nothing anyone else in the braintrust can do to talk him out of it. But I'd be surprised if they end up with the Texas safety.

They could shock us by taking a tight end. The Blogfather, Matt Mosley, says he's been hearing the Cowboys love Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert, and if that's the case they could be making plans to move up to get him. While that would seem silly with Jason Witten still in place and at the top of his game, it's not completely crazy to find another weapon for Tony Romo in the passing game. If Eifert is the Cowboys' best player available, they could go for it. It would be foolish, and would leave them too short in too many other areas, but I'm not sure that would stop them.

My prediction: I'm leaning on history here and saying the mocks are all wrong and the Cowboys are going to be able to get one of those guards. Since we're making a pick, I'll say it's Chance Warmack who falls either all the way to 18 or at least into the 14-15 range that would allow them to make a sensible, cost-effective trade-up to get him. Not like last year's trade for Claiborne, which cost them their second-round pick, but maybe for a later-round pick or even a 2014 one.

PODCAST
Ed Werder joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett live from Kansas City to discuss Jerry Jones' attendance at the Bush Library on NFL draft day, what he expects the Chiefs to do with the No. 1 pick and tell a funny tale about Bill Clinton and Jerry Jones. Listen

Todd Archer ran some numbers, and his conclusion is that the Dallas Cowboys struggle with the draft. Here's some of his data:

Since 2007, the Cowboys have drafted 47 players and only 18 remain. That’s not good. After a quick perusal of the NFC East, it’s the worst percentage (38.3%) of any team in the division. From 2007-12, Philadelphia has 28 of 59 picks left (47.5%); Washington has 24 of 48 picks (50%) and the New York Giants have 24 of 46 picks left (52%).

...

In the last three years, which should be the core of a team, the Cowboys have 15 of 21 picks left. The Eagles are the worst with 23 of 33 picks. Washington is the best at 21 of 27 and the Giants have 16 of 22 picks remaining.

The point of entry for Todd's analysis was a discussion about whether they should have moved down in the 2011 draft, when they stayed put and took Tyron Smith at No. 9 and whether they were wise to move up in 2012, when they used their first-round pick and their second-round pick to draft Morris Claiborne. Todd thinks last year's move and 2011's non-move were mistakes. I agree, as I think most of you know, about last year. Because I think Smith will be a franchise left tackle, I don't hold the 2011 decision against them.

But what I see here is a clue about how the Cowboys play the top of the draft, and it's a discouraging one. It appears to me that Jerry Jones, who ultimately makes these decisions, falls in love with a player and does what he can to get him, the rest of the draft be damned. And a roster as thin with top-level talent as Dallas' has been for the last couple of years needs to make the second, third and fourth rounds more productive than the Cowboys usually have.

They love Claiborne as a keystone piece for the future, and that's fine. But had they held onto that second-round pick, they might have been able to come out of the first two rounds with, for example, Fletcher Cox and Peter Konz. (Yes, they'd have had to move up for Cox, but likely not with a second-rounder in the deal.) Two starting pieces instead of one. This is the approach Dallas needs to take this year -- finding a new starting offensive lineman in the first round and then looking for immediate contributors, on either line or at safety, in Rounds 2 and 3.

When they dealt away their second-round pick last year, a lot of Cowboys' fans said that was OK because they always mess up the second round anyway. But 2011's second-rounder was Bruce Carter and 2010's was Sean Lee. They also got DeMarco Murray in the third round in 2011. These are players on which they're attempting to build their future core, and it would be wise to keep in mind the value those picks (and those that follow them) have when things get hot and heavy tomorrow night and the temptation to grab a player they love overrides the value of the pick or picks needed to get him.

Remember, when we critique a draft in progress on this blog, we're not making predictions about how guys will play, because we can't and neither can anyone else. We're looking at the value of the picks and how they were used -- whether they could have waited until the fifth or sixth round for a guy they took in the fourth, for example. That's what you'll find here Thursday night through Saturday night, and we'll have a close eye on the Cowboys, of course, since this is a gigantic draft for them and they can't mess it up.

IRVING, Texas – On Tuesday I upset some people when I questioned the philosophy the Cowboys chose in 2011 and ’12 to select Tyron Smith and Morris Claiborne.

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How close were the Cowboys to getting John Elway in 1983? Fitzsimmons and Durrett discuss what could have been if John Elway got his wish and was traded to Dallas. Listen

I believe they left too much on the table by not taking a trade with Jacksonville in 2011, and then by giving up their second-rounder to move up to get Claiborne. To justify their non-move and move, Smith and Claiborne have to be close to all-world in my view.

I believe the more picks you have, the better off you will be. Jimmy Johnson showed that. But I want to add this obvious nugget: the more early picks (top two rounds), the better off you’ll be.

But that was yesterday’s debate.

So now I present to you the argument as to why many of you believe the Cowboys did the correct thing in staying put for Smith and trading up for Claiborne: The Cowboys struggle drafting.

Since 2007, the Cowboys have drafted 47 players and only 18 remain. That’s not good. After a quick perusal of the NFC East, it’s the worst percentage (38.3%) of any team in the division. From 2007-12, Philadelphia has 28 of 59 picks left (47.5%); Washington has 24 of 48 picks (50%) and the New York Giants have 24 of 46 picks left (52%).

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Nate Newton went undrafted in 1983, but he still feels like he was part of one of the greatest draft classes in league history. Newton joins Fitzsimmons and Durrett to discuss his draft experience from 30 years ago and his journey to three rings. Listen

Now, teams will have fewer players left from 2007-08 because most of those players have moved on to second contracts.

As we all know the Cowboys don’t have a player left from the 2009 draft, but that was a year in which they didn’t have first- or second-round picks. The Giants have five of nine picks left from ’09. The Redskins have one of six picks left from ’09. The Eagles have two of eight picks left from ’09.

In the last three years, which should be the core of a team, the Cowboys have 15 of 21 picks left. The Eagles are the worst with 23 of 33 picks. Washington is the best at 21 of 27 and the Giants have 16 of 22 picks remaining.

So am I contradicting myself from Tuesday’s post? No. The Cowboys had a chance to gain an extra second-round pick in 2011 and keep their own second-rounder last year. Four of the Cowboys’ six first-round picks from 2007-12 remain in Anthony Spencer, Dez Bryant, Smith and Claiborne. Two of their three second-rounders from that span remain in Sean Lee and Bruce Carter.

The three departures are Felix Jones, Mike Jenkins and Martellus Bennett. They weren’t busts, but they weren’t hits either. The best thing you can say is they played out their contracts.

There was concern, I won't lie, as I sat there with the No. 18 pick for the Dallas Cowboys in the ESPN.com blogger mock draft. Dallas absolutely needs to come out of the first round with a new starting offensive lineman, and they were going off the board quickly. The top three tackles went in the top five picks, and when guard Chance Warmack went to Arizona at No. 7, I got worried.

Eyeing North Carolina's Jonathan Cooper, who was still on the board at No. 10, I reached out to Paul Kuharsky to ask if the Titans wanted to trade down. He said they did. I offered Dallas' first-round pick and third-round pick (Picks 18 and 80) for the No. 10. Paul countered by offering Picks 10 and 142 (fifth round) for Picks 18 and 47 (second round). I said I couldn't do that, after ripping the Cowboys for giving up their second-round pick last year to move up for Morris Claiborne. Don't want to be hypocritical, right?

So Paul and I talked about some possibilities involving 2014 compensation, but we couldn't agree on it, and he ended up taking Sharrif Floyd for the Titans at No. 10. My next move was to reach out to Bill Williamson, who was picking for the Chargers at No. 11. I made the same offer to him -- the 18 and the 80 -- but he said he was going to stay put and make a pick. He picked Cooper, which obviously disappointed me-as-Cowboys.

Now I had my eye on D.J. Fluker, the Alabama tackle who would allow the Cowboys to bid goodbye to Doug Free and help solidify the run game. I think he's the absolute perfect guy for the Cowboys at 18 if the guards are gone by then, and the only team I was still afraid might snatch him away was Carolina at 14. Fluker didn't feel worthy of trading up for, so I decided I'd stay put and hope he fell to 18, and if he didn't, I'd look into trading down and going after someone like Syracuse's Justin Pugh.

But Pat Yasinskas took Sheldon Richardson for Carolina at 14. And (because I know you guys want to know) Mike Sando took safety Kenny Vaccaro for the Rams at 16. And lo and behold, there was Fluker still sitting there at 18 for the Cowboys. I ran to the podium.

Will the Cowboys do the same if the same situation plays out Thursday night? It doesn't sound like them. But I think they'd be wise to take Fluker. And I don't even think they'd be nuts to take an offensive lineman in the second round as well. The need -- short term and long term -- is that significant.

The Cowboys moved up from the No. 14 spot of the 2012 NFL draft to select LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne with the sixth overall pick.

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How close were the Cowboys to getting John Elway in 1983? Fitzsimmons and Durrett discuss what could have been if John Elway got his wish and was traded to Dallas. Listen

Claiborne was the second-highest rated player on the Cowboys' draft board, following quarterback Andrew Luck.

Will the Cowboys move up in 2013?

Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones doesn't believe it'll happen.

"I don't think so, but I wouldn't totally rule it out," Jones said on KZDC-AM San Antonio on Tuesday afternoon. "Typically you save those big move ups for your skill players ... whether it's a corner or a pass-rusher on defense, a quarterback, running back, receiver. You're usually willing to give up a player later in the draft to really get a guy you want. I don't necessarily see that for us this year."

This year's draft is deep along the offensive and defensive lines and at defensive back.

The Cowboys have needs at those positions, but with the draft being so deep in certain areas, Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones said he's willing to trade down from No. 18. But they do have priorities.

"I think protecting our big investments probably first and foremost, our commitment of resources we made to (Tony) Romo," Stephen Jones said on KZDC-AM. "What you want to do is keep him standing up and healthy, and if the right situation occurs there to help protect him in the offensive line, you've got to take a look at that. At the same time, you can't compromise the integrity of your board."

Missing the playoffs again isn't an acceptable notion around Valley Ranch for the Dallas Cowboys.

There are many questions surrounding this draft class, but the Cowboys can't miss here. The Cowboys have to find a starter or a significant contributor in the first two rounds, regardless if they trade up or down.

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Todd Archer joins Ian Fitzsimmons for a heated debate about whether the Cowboys should draft a quarterback. Listen

"We can say what we want about what we believe in as a coaching staff, but ultimately what we believe in is reflected most by the players we have," coach Jason Garrett said Monday. "In this case, the players we draft. I think we’ve done a good job over the last couple of years bringing the kind of guys in who we think reflect the way we want to play. And we want to continue to do that. You want drafted players to play as quickly as they can play."

The Cowboys found starters in the first round in the last three draft classes, and second-round picks in 2010 (Sean Lee) and 2011 (Bruce Carter) have also become starters.

However, outside of Morris Claiborne in the first round, the Cowboys didn't get much from the rest of the 2012 draft class. Tyrone Crawford (third round) and James Hanna (sixth round) showed some encouraging signs, but Kyle Wilber (fourth rounder) and Matt Johnson (fourth rounder) were disappointments.

"We’ve been fortunate the last couple of years. Mo Claiborne was an instant starter for us and Tyron Smith was an instant starter for us," Garrett said. "We’ve had some guys come in and play early and really be contributors to our team. You want to be able to do that again.

"I think one of the things we feel good about in our organization is we had two really good contributors last year, Claiborne and Tyrone Crawford, but we had some other guys who got banged up early last year and weren’t able to contribute as much as we wanted them to (in) fourth-round picks Wilber and Matt Johnson. James Hanna was a guy who emerged for us towards the end of the year. But we have guys from last year’s draft that we feel like we haven’t even seen yet because of injury, so we expect some things from them in terms of competing with players on our team, competing for roster spots, competing for playing time."

IRVING, Texas – Jerry Jones views himself as something of a gambler when it comes to the NFL draft. The Cowboys owner and general manager is willing to take some risks that others may not make.

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Nate Newton joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss the Cowboys and the upcoming NFL draft. Listen

With their first-round picks the last two seasons, the Cowboys appeared to skip the risky route with Tyron Smith and Morris Claiborne.

Smith was considered the top offensive tackle available in 2011, and Claiborne was the highest-rated defensive player on the Cowboys’ board last spring.

That the Cowboys were able to score both players should be viewed as a positive.

Looking back on those drafts, I wouldn’t have selected either player. It’s not an argument against the player, but an argument against the philosophy. For Smith, the Cowboys left too much on the table. For Claiborne, the Cowboys gave up a lot.

In 2011, I would have made the trade with Jacksonville, giving up the No. 9 pick for picks Nos. 16 and 49. The Cowboys could have had tackle Nate Solder and had an extra second-round pick, in addition to Bruce Carter, whom they took with their own No. 2 selection.

In 2012, I would not have traded with St. Louis to get Claiborne. The Cowboys swapped first-round picks and gave up their second rounder to move up eight spots. Staying at No. 14 would have allowed them to take defensive end Michael Brockers and, so they said, linebacker Bobby Wagner, who excelled as a rookie in Seattle.

If we’ve learned anything from those nonstop AT&T commercials here lately it’s that two is always better than one.

The Cowboys could have had two second-round picks in 2011 instead of one. They could have had first- and second-round picks last year instead of just a first rounder.

It’s not that I don’t believe Smith and Claiborne can develop into top players at their positions. It’s just that they MUST develop into top players at their positions to justify the reasons why the Cowboys went the routes they went the last two years.

Smith has to be better than just solid. He has to be a perennial Pro Bowler, one of those no-doubt top tackles in the NFL. He played well as a rookie at right tackle. He was good last year after moving to left tackle. He needs to be better in 2013.

Because the Cowboys traded up for Claiborne, he has to be better than just solid. He has to be a perennial Pro Bowler, one of those no-doubt top corners in the NFL. He had moments as a rookie, but did he have a signature lock-down play last year? His interception against Carolina was a nice play, but there needs to be more of that. He needs to be better in 2013.

The Cowboys got quality in Smith and Claiborne, but this has been a roster in need of quantity.

IRVING, Texas – The Cowboys’ pre-draft press conference took a strange turn when the Jones family, unprompted, went off on a tangent trying to justify their first-round picks from five years ago.

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Galloway & Company discuss Jerry Jones' comments from the Cowboys' pre-draft news conference. Listen

The point was made through the prism of wanting to maximize the production of players on their rookie contracts. As far as the top two Cowboys executives are concerned, Felix Jones and Mike Jenkins weren’t disappointments at Valley Ranch despite the fact that no attempt was made to keep them once they hit free agency.

“You’re paying Jenkins whether Jenkins is here or not. You’re paying somebody else,” Jerry Jones said. “The facts are that in the system we are in today, when you draft a [Rashard] Mendenhall or you draft a Felix Jones, you are going to be paying a running back; you just don’t know whether you’re going to be paying the one you drafted or the one you’re going to go get.

“You said while you’ve got him during those four or five years are very important and we’d like to use him to be going to playoffs and competing for the Super Bowl. ... So 48 months from now you’re going to be sitting here deciding whether or not to pay him just like you would be a free agent out here. And so during those early years is when you want to get a lot of mileage relative to players.”

The Cowboys actually got a lot of mileage out of Jones and Jenkins during their second season, when they were significant contributors to a team that won a playoff game. By the standard set at Valley Ranch over the last 16 seasons, that apparently makes them tremendous successes.

Jenkins made the Pro Bowl that season, picking off five passes and performing like a legitimate lockdown corner. He had three picks in the rest of his Cowboys tenure, which ended with him serving as the fourth corner after Dallas gave Brandon Carr a five-year, $50 million deal and traded up to draft Morris Claiborne.

The playoff win over the Eagles was the high point of Jones’ career, as he carried 16 times for 148 yards and a touchdown in that victory. He averaged 5.9 yards per carry as a change-of-pace back that season but lost a significant amount of explosiveness as he bulked up in anticipation of a bigger role next season. After flunking the conditioning test of the beginning of training camp last year, Jones stumbled for 3.6 yards per carry as a backup while backs picked behind him (Chris Johnson, Matt Forte, Ray Rice and Jamaal Charles) continued to put up big numbers.

“The point Jerry is making on Felix and Jenkins, they were productive guys for us for four years,” Stephen Jones said. “Felix was our one/two running back and we had him in that role the whole time and Jenkins was a starter for us. We just happened to get Claiborne in the draft and decided that was more of a future, a better future for us, than it was going up and re-upping Jenks for a lot of money.

“But (whether) it was Felix or Jenks, it wouldn’t have saved you any money once they come out of their rookie draft class. You’ve still got to pay them whether it’s yours or your own.”

The production of those 2008 first-round picks didn’t exactly merit a bidding war in the open market. Jenkins settled for a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the Oakland Raiders. Jones worked out for the Cincinnati Bengals, but he’s still unsigned.

The Cowboys started voluntary offseason workouts Monday at Valley Ranch.

Most players worked out prior to Monday or were rehabbing injuries.

Here's a primer:

Who runs the program? Mike Woicik, the Cowboys' strength and conditioning coach, has a program in place for every player that includes lifting, running and even eating (if necessary). Woicik, who has won Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys, monitors every player's weight. There were numerous injuries last season -- including to safety Matt Johnson, who missed the entire season -- and you could blame training, bad luck or the players themselves. Miles Austin battled hamstring injuries, but you can't blame Woicik. Coach Jason Garrett said sometimes Austin needs to be protected from himself and must communicate with the strength and conditioning staff how his leg feels.

The media: We're not allowed at Valley Ranch today, so please don't ask how the workouts are going because reporters are banned from the facility. The next time reporters will be allowed at Valley Ranch is for the predraft news conference with owner/general manager Jerry Jones.

The injured: Among the players who were injured last season and will begin workouts: Chris Jones (knee), Orlando Scandrick (hand), Barry Church (Achilles), Sean Lee (toe), Bruce Carter (elbow), Caleb McSurdy (Achilles), Orie Lemon (hamstring), Dez Bryant (finger), Phil Costa (ankle), Ben Bass (ankle), Donavon Kemp (knee) and DeMarcus Ware (shoulder).

What does voluntary mean? Players technically aren't required to show up and participate in the offseason program. Mike Jenkins didn't arrive at Valley Ranch during the voluntary period last season as he recovered from shoulder surgery. Jenkins was irked by the Cowboys' offseason moves to sign cornerback Brandon Carr and draft Morris Claiborne. Jenkins eventually showed up for mandatory workouts so he wouldn't get fined. Austin also failed to show up at voluntary workouts a few years ago after he was franchised by the team. When several teammates -- including quarterback Tony Romo -- noted Austin's absence, the receiver showed up.

Who gets paid? Some NFL players have financial incentive to participate in voluntary offseason programs. Some of the Cowboys who get workout bonuses: Ware ($500,000), Bryant ($250,000), Jermey Parnell ($100,000), Carter ($50,000), DeMarco Murray ($25,000), Tyrone Crawford ($10,000), David Arkin ($20,000) and Dwayne Harris ($10,000). And then there are those who would be docked pay for failing to complete the program: Mackenzy Bernadeau ($250,000), Jason Hatcher ($250,000) and Lawrence Vickers ($100,000).

Mandatory workouts: The Cowboys' first mandatory minicamp is scheduled for June 11-13.

» NFC Eight in the Box: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Who is one potential breakout player for the Dallas Cowboys in 2013?

Dallas Cowboys: Bruce Carter. I was torn between Carter and Morris Claiborne for this distinction -- and in a way, both already broke out to some degree last season. Carter and Claiborne are fantastic talents, but I do have concerns about how Claiborne, a true man-to-man cornerback at his roots, will be used in Dallas’ new 4-3 scheme, which should feature a lot of Cover 2. On the other hand, Carter is a perfect fit as a Derrick Brooks-style weakside linebacker with his extreme athletic ability to run, hit and make plays in space. Carter is coming off a season-ending elbow injury, but that shouldn’t slow him down in 2013, and he played very well last season before the injury. Expect a lot of big plays from the dynamic Carter.

To see the breakout players from the other NFC East teams, click here.

Todd Archer wrote a compelling column the other day about the pressure to win being on GM Jerry Jones.

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Fitzsimmons & Durrett discuss Tony Romo's contract extension and what it says about Jerry Jones. Listen

Archer writes: "Jones has to do more for Romo besides just writing some handsome checks. Jones has to get better players around Romo, and not just at the sexy positions."

The pieces are here.

The pressure shouldn't be on Jones, it should be on Romo.

Romo has an elite tight end in Jason Witten, two standout wide receivers in Dez Bryant and Miles Austin. He has a rising running back in DeMarco Murray and a young talented left tackle in Tyron Smith.

You could say the rest of the offensive line struggled at times last season, but it's strange how the offensive line wasn't an issue when Romo went on a seven-game stretch where he threw 16 touchdowns and just three interceptions and his team went 5-2 to remain in the playoff picture. Romo was sacked an ungodly 20 times during those seven games.

But all sacks can't be placed on the offensive line, much like all interceptions can't be placed on the quarterback. Can Romo throw the ball away sometimes? Anytime?

On defense, nobody questions the elite status of DeMarcus Ware and the talented young players in Sean Lee, Bruce Carter and Morris Claiborne. Brandon Carr, Jason Hatcher, Anthony Spencer and Jay Ratliff are solid playmakers.

Kicker Dan Bailey is solid.

The pieces are in place.

The Cowboys have the No. 18 overall pick in the draft and should find a starter who will make an impact.

What Romo's contract has done is raise the stakes even higher. Yes, the Cowboys want Romo to deliver a championship before he signed his new contract last week. But the Cowboys could have moved on without Romo and still cleared out salary cap space without restructuring his deal. The free-agency market for the Cowboys was going to be tight regardless of whether the Cowboys lowered Romo's salary cap figures.

By giving Romo this massive contract, the Cowboys told the NFL, "we expect a championship NOW."

At some point, the Cowboys should have drafted a quarterback for the future. They didn't, so now they're stuck and you can blame Jones for that.

But you can't blame Jones for providing security for his quarterback, which is the right thing to do. And don't blame Jones if his quarterback fails to bring a championship to North Texas.

That's on Romo.

According to a source, the Oakland Raiders have expressed interest in free agent cornerback Mike Jenkins.

Jenkins, a 2008 Cowboys first-round pick, has been to one Pro Bowl, and was a main starter during his time in Dallas.

Last year when the Cowboys signed Brandon Carr to a five-year $50.1 million deal and selected Morris Claiborne in the first round, it made Jenkins expendable.

Jenkins played last season as a backup and had three pass breakups.

At the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix, Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones offered praise for Jenkins.

"Jenkins is very capable, I think a good cornerback," Jones said. "We happen to be pretty committed relative to the rest of our roster. We have to be pretty committed at cornerback. Under a different circumstances, Jenkins might be a little different story for us right now. He would be a different story right now, he certainly wouldn't be out of our radar as far as having him of bringing him back as a starter. I think Jenkins is a starting cornerback in the NFL.

So I've been trying to find something to write about the Dallas Cowboys even though they have no cap room and aren't signing anyone, because this is an NFC East blog and should hit on all four of the teams as much as possible. And I found this from Bryan Broaddus on the team's website about defensive tackle Jay Ratliff and the way he'll fit into Monte Kiffin's 4-3 defensive alignment. Bryan's excited because he thinks Ratliff is the kind of player who will flourish in the 4-3, and that he can play either of its defensive tackle positions well:

In this scheme, the defensive coaches want their guys to play with more speed and quickness, which is right down the alley for Ratliff. There is a reason that Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett never wavered about Ratliff coming back for this 2013 [season] despite the legal problem he faces in the coming months. He was built to play in this scheme.

This got me thinking. Sure, Ratliff's a knucklehead for blowing up at Jerry Jones in the locker room. Worse yet, he was arrested and charged with DUI a month and a half after teammate Jerry Brown was killed in a drunk driving accident for which teammate Josh Brent was charged. And sure, he had no more sacks last year than you or I did. But when healthy and on the field, Ratliff is still an excellent player, capable of disrupting an offense from an interior line position.

Then that got me thinking that Ratliff isn't exactly alone on the roster. On the defensive side of the ball, DeMarcus Ware is an excellent player. Cornerbacks Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne are very good. Linebacker Sean Lee is outstanding, and fellow linebacker Bruce Carter sure looked headed that way last season before his injury. Jason Hatcher was excellent last season, and so was Anthony Spencer, whether he's worth his $10.6 million franchise tender or not.

On offense, the Cowboys have excellent players at quarterback, tight end and both starting wide receiver spots. They have a very good running back and left tackle. Can you find fault with any or all of these players? Sure. But on balance, I just gave you 14 starting positions at which the Cowboys are at least above average, and in several cases much better.

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Calvin Watkins joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to talk about Martellus Bennett's progression since he left the Cowboys, the definition of a Tony Romo apologist and the Cowboys' salary cap situation. Listen

The point? Well, as Cowboys fans bemoan the lack of cap space and resultant lack of activity in this first week of free agency, it might be worth remembering that there are some really good players on this team, and that it might not be the kind of team that needed to have a big first week of free agency.

Now, of course they need work. I'm not naive. I know they've been 8-8 each of the past two seasons. I know the offensive line is a wreck, that they have question marks at safety, and that depth is an issue in spots. I know they need to find another starting linebacker to go with Lee and Carter. And yes, of course I know about Tony Romo's reputation for playing small in big spots. All of that stuff is true. I just think it's too easy too often for Cowboys fans to get negative about the way they perceive their team, and I don't think it's all doom and gloom there in Dallas.

Each of the past two seasons, they made it to the final game with a chance to win the division. By definition, that's a contending team, and as close to being a playoff team as one can get. They must improve in spots, most notably the offensive line, or it's going to be hard to believe they can make any big leap forward. But I don't agree with the perception that they're in big trouble because they were hamstrung this week in free agency. I think there are a lot of very good players on the Cowboys' roster who, if properly supported by a good draft and some smart free-agent bargain hunting, can make this a competitive team in 2013, just as it was in 2011 and 2012.

I think that's worth keeping in mind, is all.

Running back Felix Jones and cornerback Mike Jenkins are drawing interest from NFL teams as the free-agency period nears.

The Dallas Cowboys have no interest in re-signing Jenkins, a one-time Pro Bowler. Jenkins lost his starting job last season when the Cowboys signed Brandon Carr to a five-year, $50.1 million deal and moved up in the draft to select Morris Claiborne.

Jenkins didn't like how the Cowboys treated him in the offseason as he recovered from major shoulder surgery, and the Cowboys weren't happy he didn't show up for voluntary offseason workouts.

But Jenkins is getting interest from other NFL teams as a potential starter.

Jones is also getting inquiries from other teams, mainly as a backup, because injuries have limited his ability to hold the starter role. The Cowboys have minimal interest, and it's doubtful the team will bring him back.

Jones was drafted as a backup and showed flashes of becoming an impact player, but his health has betrayed him. During the 2012 season, team executive vice president Stephen Jones said Jones played through some things that most players wouldn't. We know Jones played with two sore knees but didn't need offseason surgery.