The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has greatly affected the way the Cowboys will conduct the 2020 NFL Draft, and Jerry Jones' shins couldn't be happier.
Dallas' owner/general manager will conduct the team's draft by himself at his home, without anyone in his direct vicinity to question what moves he might make. That includes his son Stephen Jones, Dallas' vice president of player personnel, who apparently took to physical violence to make his father hit pause on his previous picks.
"One of the things I'm not going to miss is when I came out of those draft rooms over the weekend, my old shins used to have big old bruises on them," Jones said (per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). "That was from Stephen kicking me under the table for three straight days relative to some of our decision-making."
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It should be noted that Stephen Jones is the one who stopped his father from drafting quarterback Johnny Manziel with the 16th pick of the 2014 draft. They instead went with guard Zack Martin, a six-time Pro Bowler and four-time first-team All-Pro.
So who knows what sort of shenanigans the elder Jones might get into?
That said, Jerry Jones won't make the team's eight picks completely on an island. Some outlets have erroneously reported that he told his scouting department not to bother him as he conducts the draft, based on a satirical tweet by Matt Mosley of The Dallas Morning News. Mosley quickly refuted his own tweet once he saw it picking up steam:
Just having fun here. Jerry is all ears to his scouts. 🤣🤣 https://t.co/FtLPWXwDo8
— Matt Mosley (@mattmosley) April 23, 2020
He apparently didn't set the record straight quick enough, however; Bleacher Report, for example, was one of several outlets that treated his tweet as valid news.
.@BleacherReport my Jerry Jones "report" was a satirical headline. I quickly made that clear when I saw it getting out of control. Please be advised. 🤣
— Matt Mosley (@mattmosley) April 23, 2020
So, to recap: Jones will make the Cowboys' picks alone, in his home (and his shins will be better for it). He will, however, be in contact with his team as he makes the selections.
