Cowboys’ approach a sign of Jerry Jones’ belief in roster

5:25 PM ET

IRVING, Texas – If you need any more convincing that Jerry Jones believes the Dallas Cowboys will be contenders in 2016 then the draft gives you more proof.

The Cowboys had more pressing needs than to take running back Ezekiel Elliott in the first round with the fourth overall pick. The Cowboys had more pressing needs than to take a linebacker in the second round with the 34th overall pick.

And then there’s the move the Cowboys didn’t make that speaks more to the future than the present. Jerry Jones badly wanted to trade back into the first round to take quarterback Paxton Lynch and they would have hoped he didn’t see the field for two or three seasons.

The Cowboys had more pressing needs than a running back, but Jerry Jones sees Ezekiel Elliott as a return to 2014 for his team. AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

In free agency the Cowboys’ biggest signing was defensive tackle Cedric Thornton at four years, $17 million. They added defensive end Benson Mayowa in restricted free agency on a modest deal and re-signed a slew of their own, such as Rolando McClain, Morris Claiborne, James Hanna and Jack Crawford.

If Jones felt as if he were presiding over a team in need of a quick makeover – or even a rebuild project – he could have done more.

“To the extent that we can interpret the picks that we made, as to how I felt when I …

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