During the press conference after offensive lineman Tyler Smith’s first-round selection, Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones made a classic move. When discussing the team’s ranking of prospects, Jones insisted that he rated Smith over fellow offensive linemen Kenyon Green and Zion Johnson; The two players regularly mocked Dallas, but by the time Dallas hit the clock at No. 24, both were gone. This was an unpopular opinion among the media, and in a very successful attempt to prove it, Jones picked up a sheet of paper with the team’s draft board on it as a visual aid.
Whether it intended to become an espionage probe is beyond comprehension but it turned out to be. Dallas fans and members of the media collaborated to understand the board that Jones had put up and Mike Leslie of the WFAA got the ball rolling.
Not qualified for lack of trying… I legally went home and screencasted our video of the presser from my laptop to my TV… that’s all I got pic.twitter.com/rjVG093qAT
— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) 3 May 2022
KD Drummond is a veteran in these investigations and called in his old crew to dig in. It took less than two hours for the group, and they sorted out the top 16 to the best of their ability. The list is as follows.
- Kayvan Thibodaux, DE, Oregon
- Evan Neal, OT, Alabama
- Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Michigan;
- Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State
- Ahmed “Sauce” Gardner, CB, Cincinnati
- Derek Stingley, Jr., CB, LSU
- Travan Walker, DE, Georgia
- Kyle Hamilton, Security, Notre Dame
- Ilem Ekwonu, OT, NC State
- Drake London, WR, USC
- Jordan Davis, DT, Georgia;
- Charles Cross, OT, Mississippi State
- Lewis Caine, Security, Georgia
- Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama
- Chris Olev, WR, Ohio State
- Tyler Smith, OG, Tulsa
This was just the beginning of a search that continued. Jumping in was John Machota of The Athletic, who jumped down the rabbit hole and came back with 34 names on the sheet.
The board shows 14 names in the top box, which according to Machota denotes the 14 first-round grades. The next 20 were second-round graders, including Chris Olev and of course Smith, who were selected by the Cowboys. Here is the last 18.
17. Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah: Formed by Jaguar at number 27.
18. Daxton Hill, S, Michigan: Drafted by Bengalis at No. 31.
19. Bryce Hall, RB, Iowa State: Drafted by the Jets at number 36.
20. Kenyon Green, OG, Texas A&M: Drafted by Texans at No. 15.
21. George Karloftis, DE, Purdue: Formulated by the Chiefs at number 30.
22. Zion Johnson, OG, Boston College: Drafted by the Chargers at No. 17.
23. Treylon Burke, WR, Arkansas: Drafted by Titans at No. 18.
24. Kyler Gordon, CB, Washington: Drafted by the Bears at number 39.
25. Tyler Linderbaum, C, Iowa: Formulated by the Ravens at No. 25.
26. David Ojabo, DE, Michigan: Drafted by the Ravens at No. 45.
27. Jahan Dotson, WR, Penn State: Drafted by commanders at No. 16.
28. Jermaine Johnson, DE, Florida State: Drafted by the Jets at No. 26.
29. Kaire Alum, CB, FL: Drafted by the Bills at No. 23.
30. Arnold Ebicetti, DE, Penn State: Drafted by the Falcons at No. 38.
31. Trent McDuffie, CB, Washington: Drafted by the Chiefs at No. 21.
32. Quay Walker, LB, Georgia: Drafted by the Packers at No. 22.
33. Devonte Wyatt, DT, Georgia: Ditched by the Packers at No. 28.
34. Logan Hall, DE, Houston: Drafted by the Buccaneers at No. 33.
Knowing Jones, it was probably part of an Emperor Palpatine-level plan to stir up the Dallas sports world, but there’s a full list from the first page of the grade.
“The good news is that most of those players are gone,” Stephen Jones added after Jerry Jones put down the paper.
Of the 34 listed above, Bryce Hall, Gordon, Ojabo, Ebikete and Logan Hall were still available when the second round began on Friday night. According to our list, Smith was the second highest-rated player after Caine. Dallas has chosen Smith over the cine, it shouldn’t be a surprise considering how the Cowboys have valued safety in the draft almost over the past 20 years. Roy Williams, in 2002, is the last safety Dallas has drawn in either the first or second round.
The 2022 NFL Draft is all said and done and it’s another matter on the books for the Cowboys’ investigators and Stephen Jones to keep a tight grip on that sheet from now on.
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