Did the Cowboys nearly trade into the third round and draft offensive guard Trai Turner?
IRVING - The Dallas Cowboys didn't have a third-round pick in this year's draft. They traded it to Washington in the deal that allowed them to land Boise State defensive end Demarcus Lawrence early in the second round.
But Stephen Jones says the Cowboys nearly worked their way into the back end of the third.
"We got the rug pulled out from under us about two picks away from it there yesterday in the bottom of the third," the Cowboys executive vice president said Saturday night. "We had a neat little deal set up. It was going to be a nice pick for us too, that I think would have worked out."
Was it a wide receiver?
Jones: "No, another offensive lineman."
Jones said making the move would've involved trading away a future pick.
Over the last 12 picks of the third round, San Diego drafted Notre Dame guard Chris Watt, Carolina selected LSU guard Trai Turner, Jacksonville picked Miami guard Brandon Linder, Denver took Michigan tackle Michael Schofield and San Francisco pulled the trigger on Clemson tackle Brandon Thomas.
Turner, the 28th pick in the round, seems to be the likeliest of the bunch. The 6-3, 310-pound New Orleans native was the only one of those five to make an official pre-draft visit to Valley Ranch.
Had the trade been completed, the Cowboys could have been entering the 2014 season with a starting offensive line of Tyron Smith, Turner, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin and Doug Free.
"It's probably not fair to share," Jones said, "but it was something that was real close."
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