One draft has come and gone, with the Cowboys selecting seven players over three days, including their highest-rated defensive player on the board.
So now it's time for the second draft. This time, the Cowboys don't have to be as patient.
A high priority has always been placed on rookie free agents, especially here in Dallas where the starting quarterback and No. 1 wide receiver came as undrafted hopefuls who are now the centerpieces of the team.
Owner/GM Jerry Jones not only said the Cowboys will sign 20 rookie free agents Saturday night and early Sunday morning, but confirmed Memphis offensive tackle Ron Leary will be joining the mix. Leary (6-3, 315) will move to guard and likely would've been a mid-round pick had it not been for a degenerative knee injury that scared off many teams to take him.
In Saturday night's post-draft press conference, Jones couldn't wait to announce that signing, considering some of the Cowboys' scouts as grades on Leary as high as the third-round. Cowboys VP and director of player personnel Stephen Jones said overall the club had a sixth-round grade on Leary.
Leary started 12 games at left tackle in 2010 as a junior, and then the first six of 2011 before moving to right guard to compensate for other injuries on the line. That move might have been the clincher to convince teams such as the Cowboys that he can move inside with effectiveness.
"Our coach (Bill Callahan) thinks he might be the readiest of any of the offensive linemen," Jerry Jones said. "Our scouts had the right grade on him. Relatively to where we are, here's a guy who can help us."
Overall, the Cowboys will sign 20 rookies, although it's not likely the team will have a quarterback among that group. Stephen Jones did say there will likely be a rookie or two come in next weekend for the rookie mini-camp on a tryout basis, just to function through the drills.
The Cowboys typically don't announce the rookie free agents until later in the week, but names will likely surface over the next few days.
Other rookie free agents who have reportedly agreed to terms:
WR Cole Beasley, SMU
CB Lionel Smith, Texas A&M
ILB Aston Whiteside, Abilene Christian
OT Taylor Dever, Notre Dame
TE George Bryan, N.C. State
CB Isaac Madison, Arkansas
TE Andrew Szcrerba, Penn State
RB Darrell Scott, South Florida
RB Lance Dunbar, North Texas
G/T Ronald Leary, Memphis
OT Levy Adcock, Oklahoma State
CB Troy Woolford, Michigan
DE Adrian Hamilton, Prairie View A&M
