Everything Jerry Jones, Mike McCarthy, Cowboys said about picking Mazi Smith in first round

Everything the Dallas Cowboys leadership said about first-round draft pick Mazi Smith on Thursday after the Cowboys selected him in the NFL draft. Quotes courtesy of the Cowboys media relations staff.

On Mazi Smith

Stephen Jones: “We did have options, and we had two or three guys that were rated the same. We had a really good debate over who was the best guy for us, mainly between big men. Obviously, Mazi brings an element to our run defense that, other than [Johnathan] Hankins, we don’t have. We just felt like it was a great fit for us and it really makes us a better defense at the end of the day.”

On how Mazi’s success with run defense on early downs potentially helping the Cowboys pass rush

Mike McCarthy: “When you go through evaluation postseason, it was clear that we wanted to improve our run defense. It was a focal point, and I think this clearly does that. We love everything about Mazi. He was here on the [Top] 30 visits. Our personnel guys had high grades on him. He’s a great fit for us. Some of our main strengths, taking the ball away and pass rush; we just wanted to get better on earlier downs, and we think this is a great fit for us.”On what put Mazi over the top and if he has the ability to pass rush,

Jerry Jones: “I think that’s the correct difference, philosophically. This defense, the way we’ve got it structured, adding a key player with that much lead, that much base, that much strength, that much disruption as opposed to the number of sacks he gets. That kind of thinking, you wouldn’t have seen that from us 10 years ago. This isn’t something we thought of tonight; it’s something that’s been in the making for a couple of years. Because of the structure of this defense and Mike [McCarthy’s] philosophy on how we want to handle our complementary football, this pick and the player and the style he plays became more valuable than when I was sitting there 10 years ago for the Cowboys.”

On how close Dallas was to making any trades

JJ: “We had to turn down [a trade] right before we picked after having the discussions regarding the player. The main reason was that during the whole time we were talking, we had a trade that we could take or might have taken with a couple of rebuttals as we made this pick. We had trades in works.”

On the traits and strengths that Mazi Smith brings to the defense

Will McClay: “I think we said it earlier, when Mike [McCarthy] came in here he talked about building a bigger, stronger, faster football team. We have continued to do that, and when you look at Mazi, you have a guy…teams run the football now and you see things change. You look at our Division, he’s a guy that can stop that, a guy that adds value to our defense as well. I think there is an ability to rush the passer. You watch the Michigan tape, he is playing in a flat stance, doesn’t get after the passer. Well, you change things up,you put him with Dan [Quinn] and AD [Aden Durde] within our defense, not only can he stop the run, but we feel like there is upside in rushing the passer as well and being a disruptive force.”

On whether they considered a tight end or an edge rusher at pick 26

JJ: That is tactical with tomorrow ahead of us and the next day ahead of us, so I want to watch what we say here. Last year I showed you the damn draft board. I barely got back in the building by training camp [laughing]. I was barred from the building. So much for that.So, I am not going to give you the draft board this time.”

On there being an opportunity to draft an offensive player but opting for defense

JJ: “Let’s be a little careful there. That wasn’t the angst that you might have thought it would be – whether we went offense or defense with this pick. We did a lot of defense in the past, last two years, but that was not an issue of offense or defense. It got down, fortunately for us, player-to-player, the specifics of a player.”

MM: “I know that when we went home last night and [came in] this morning, we were right where we wanted to be as far as who we were talking about, the body type we were looking for. This is an excellent, excellent pick for us.”SJ: “I do believe depth at other positions play into your strategy too.”

On the last first round defensive tackle picked by the Cowboys being Russell Maryland, and whether Mazi Smith can have a similar impact as Maryland

JJ: “Well, I’ll tell you this, Russell Maryland played at Miami and we used a number one pick on him. At the time, we got a lot of flack for over-picking him. Russell was undersized at the time, but of course he had a great career here. I don’t know if he is still number one in character and quality [years later] and he has turned out to be that way 33 years later, but hopefully we got a player of that quality or with those characteristics. These are different guys. Russell was a gapper type player, in that sense, in terms of the type of players these guys are. We were walking out the door yesterday, and I hit [McCarthy] and he said, ‘Mazi.’ This was one of those things that worked that way for us.”

On how exciting it is to have upgraded your run defense with both Johnathan Hankins and Mazi Smith:

MM: “I think it’s a great point. I think it just clearly points in the direction and vision that we have and these acquisitions have been right on time. Our defensive production last year was outstanding. I know when you look at how we take the ball away, we just felt as awhole we just wanted to improve in that area, and I think we definitely hit the target.”

On the Philadelphia Eagles draft tonight and picking up two players in the first round in the defensive line and how that stacks up in the division:

MM: “Personally, I’ve never really sweated the other teams. We all recognize players that we like. Coaches and personnel guys – we fall in love with a lot of these guys. They’re good picks by other teams, but I’ve never really sweated what the other guys take.”

On how the selection of Mazi Smith will help the play of Micah Parsons and the Cowboys pass rush overall:

MM: “You look at our pass rush – we feel we have an elite pass rush group. Just the fact of the matter, when your run defense improves, obviously you have some longer downs and distances which tilts the field to our pass rush.”

On if you felt you were able to address a need while also sticking to the draft board with the best player available:

SJ: “Absolutely. As I said, we had three or four guys there that were in discussion at the top of our board and they all matched up and it worked out well. As we said, we were talking about Mazi at length all week as a guy who would be in that range and might could be there when we picked. I do think it aligned. There are a lot of things going into the equation. There were other players that go into the mix, but there might be depth in the draft at the position. All those things come into play as you ultimately bring your consensus together to make the best pick for our team at that point.”

On what were the conversations like with Dan Quinn and how fired up was he about the pick:

MM: “Dan – and the whole defensive line – everybody was fired up about Mazi. He made a huge impression on all of us in his 30-visit.There was some anticipation on the selection, so everybody is ecstatic. I’m sure you’ll have a chance to talk to Dan at some point.”

JJ: “Will – where did we have Mazi on our board? I’m not going to give them the damn board.”

WM: “He was on our board at a position to pick at 26.”

JJ: “Okay, 14. 14! I think he was 13 or 14. Right there.”

On ‘just because he says it doesn’t make it so’:

JJ: “What? I didn’t give you the draft board. But he was 13 or 14. Who gives a (expletive)?”

On what the impression was with Mazi Smith during his 30-visit to The Star:

MM: “I’ve been around the league with a few different organizations, and I think Will and the way it’s setup; the interaction that you have, not only at night when they come in, but the individual meetings that each coach has…it’s a car wash now. Every one of those guys come through here. It’s as detailed of a visit that I’ve ever been a part of. But yeah, you can see the character. We had a chancet o talk through the things he went through in his career. I like everything about him. I like the way he was coached. I like the way he ’scoming from. I like the way he plays. I think this guy is an outstanding fit for our locker room and for our run defense.”

JJ: “And we know everything, everything, everything about his background, and that’s part of the deal. And we wanted him.”