The Cowboys selected Connecticut cornerback Byron Jones 27th overall to mend their defense that ranked seventh from the bottom in total defense last season.
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At 6-1, 200 pounds, Jones is an athletic ball-hawk who defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli can deploy at either cornerback or safety, the position where Jones started his college career.
Jones jumped up draft boards after he recorded a world-record broad jump at the Combine to go along with a 44 1/2-inch vertical jump and a 4.36 40-yard dash he ran at his pro day last month.
The Cowboys selected corner Morris Claiborne in 2012, but the former sixth-overall pick has struggled in his transition to the NFL and has played in only 29 of a possible 50 games in three seasons. That was due in part because he suffered a season-ending patellar tendon injury in his left knee just four games into the season last year.
While the Cowboys have been pleased with cornerback Brandon Carr, the 28-year-old carries $12.7 million against the cap in the third year of a five-year, $50.1 million contract. In fact, the Cowboys could save $8 million in cap space this season by making him a post-June 1 cut.
