Jerry Jones may have accidentally revealed Cowboys' plans for No. 24 pick

The Dallas Cowboys held their pre-draft press conference on Tuesday featuring owner Jerry Jones, executive vice president Stephen Jones and head coach Mike McCarthy. While McCarthy gave insightful answers, the Joneses spewed absolute nonsense throughout the presser.

Among the highlights? Jerry Jones forgetting that the Cowboys traded down in 2021 when they took Micah Parsons in the first round. Meanwhile, Stephen Jones proclaimed Dallas "won" the offseason last year when they tried at a basic level by shipping off late-round picks for veteran players.

Getting back to the draft, the trio fielded multiple questions about the No. 24 overall pick and the quantity (and quality) of offensive line prospects. Normally, this is when a general manager would plant a smokescreen or at least give a long-winded answer without divulging vital info.

Jerry Jones, though, prefers to be read like a book. The 82-year-old was openly praiseful of the offensive line class and called it "fortuitous" that Dallas happens to need help along their line this year.

Jerry Jones all but reveals Cowboys will draft an OL in 2024 NFL Draft

Based on that quote, the Cowboys seem locked in on drafting an offensive linemen in round one. In fairness to Jones, he wasn't the only one who tipped their hand. Stephen Jones mentioned that the OL position is one of the deepest in the class, while McCarthy said that the NFC East's interior defensive line play will impact Dallas' draft.

Could that hint at the Cowboys drafting a guard or center? They have a glaring need at left tackle after Tyron Smith left as a free agent.

By pick No. 24, though, all of the the best tackles could be gone. If Dallas is presented with choosing between Oklahoma tackle Tyler Guyton, Duke OL Graham Barton, who projects as a center, or Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson, the latter two might be the smarter picks.

Regardless, it's still foolish of the Joneses and McCarthy to let the league know exactly the position they want to target with their first pick 48 hours before the draft. Unless this is a designed smokescreen, but this front office doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt.

It helps that the Cowboys don't pick until the end of the first round, but Jones' quote gives teams picking around them two days to plan accordingly. They can now scheme to jump Dallas for an offensive linemen, or trade back and stockpile picks if they target another position.

A functional front office would never let this happen.

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