The Cowboys sound pleased with the trade that brought them Amari Cooper for a first-round pick. And, really, why shouldn’t they be pleased?
They gave up the 27th choice for Cooper, who made 53 receptions for 725 yards and six touchdowns in nine regular-season games and another 13 catches for 171 yards and a touchdown in two postseason games.
“When the Raiders [use] our pick, we’ll be watching Amari Cooper highlight tapes,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said Tuesday, via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News.
The Cowboys have six total selections in the draft, including two in the top 100.
They could lose slot receiver Cole Beasley in free agency, but they have Allen Hurns to play the position, so they appear set at receiver. Jones mentioned defensive linemen, safety and a tight end as needs, with the Cowboys looking for a backup running back and a cornerback in later rounds.
“In our minds, you can never have enough defensive line depth, especially the way [defensive coordinator] Rod [Marinelli] likes to play them,” Jones said, via David Helman of the team website. “He likes them to play ‘with their hair on fire.’ So you can’t ever have enough defensive linemen. That’s always going to be a situation.”
The Cowboys won’t seek to retain defensive tackle David Irving in free agency and defensive end Randy Gregory’s status for 2019 is up in the air after the league suspended him indefinitely Tuesday.