In a pre-draft press conference, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he is “probably a little more conservative” than he was in the past when it came to draftig players with red flags for off-field issues.
That didn’t stop Jones and the Cowboys from taking edge rusher Sam Williams, however. Williams was charged with sexual battery while at Ole Miss in 2020 and was suspended from the team, but was reinstated when the charges were dropped a few months later.
Jones said the team felt comfortable taking Williams after looking into those allegations.
“A pass rusher is a premium. A pressure player is a premium,” Jones said, via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “First and foremost, he’s a terrific player and a potential terrific pro as a player. He has a lot of energy, a lot of personality. We think that is a real positive for his play as well as the people around him. He brings a lot to the table. We thoroughly investigated those allegations and are completely satisfied that those are well within our comfort level.”
Williams will step into a role formerly occupied by Randy Gregory, who had plenty of character questions when he was drafted by the Cowboys in 2015. Gregory was suspended multiple times during his tenure with the Cowboys, but developed into a capable enough player that the Broncos signed him to a five-year, $70 million contract this offseason.