FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys passed on running back in the NFL draft after moving on from their starter each of the past two seasons.
There was as much talk about one of those former Cowboys — two-time rushing champion Ezekiel Elliott — as there was any of the college prospects throughout draft weekend.
Now the focus shifts to when Elliott might return to the franchise for which he gained 8,262 yards, third-most in club history, in seven seasons before a release in a cost-cutting move after the 2022 season.
“Anytime,” owner Jerry Jones said Saturday night, speaking generally about the positive influence he believed Elliott was after saying a day earlier he thought Elliott was still good enough to be a starter.
“I don't want to get into that because I'm not sure what all we’re touching on here in terms of the rules,” Jones said. “Bottom line is that he’s a positive.”
Two of Dallas' top three picks, and three of the eight, were offensive linemen, which was among the biggest needs for the Cowboys after losing two starters this offseason. Running back was another.
“I think a lot of times, there’s always a question mark, will you really, really, really stick to your board?” executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones said. “It just felt like every time the situation was there for us to make a pick and do the right thing, it wasn’t at running back.”
The Cowboys acknowledged on the opening night of the draft that they had met with Elliott, who played for New England last season, and the 28-year-old's agent earlier that day.
After Dallas still hadn't taken a running back on the second day of the draft, Jerry Jones brought up Elliott again.
“There was a long time before a running back was taken, actually in today’s draft,” Jerry Jones said Friday night. “We also are keenly interested in seeing what the future might look like with Zeke.”
Tony Pollard, a 2019 fourth-round pick who replaced Elliott in 2023, didn't have the impact to match his $10.1 million salary playing on the franchise tag last season. Pollard signed with Tennessee in free agency.
At the moment, the four running backs on the Dallas roster who saw the field for the Cowboys last season have 163 carries for 605 yards and four touchdowns combined for their careers. Dallas added veteran journeyman Royce Freeman earlier this month.
“If you look at the dynamics of the running back room right now, it's a young group, but they all have upside,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “I like our group. You have players that are going to be here two-plus years.”
The Cowboys drafted an offensive lineman in the first round for the fifth time since 2011, getting Oklahoma's Tyler Guyton at No. 29 after trading down five spots.
All four of the other first-rounders made the Pro Bowl at least once, with 23 selections between them. The line is anchored by 2014 first-round Zack Martin, a seven-time All-Pro at right guard.
Cooper Beebe of Kansas State was Dallas' third-round choice, and Louisiana's Nathan Thomas was taken in the seventh round.
“This is a year where there are a lot of offensive linemen,” Jerry Jones said. “Why do you rob banks? Because that’s where the money is. This was a good year for us to zero in on that offensive line.”
The second-round choice of defensive end Marshawn Kneeland out of Western Michigan prompted comparisons to DeMarcus Lawrence a decade earlier.
The Cowboys didn't move up to get Kneeland the way they did in 2014 to draft Lawrence out of Boise State with the second pick of the second round, 34th overall. Kneeland went at No. 56.
Lawrence, who is going into his 11th season, doesn't have an overwhelming number of sacks (58 1/2) but has been durable and dependable, particularly as a run-stopper.
The two are almost the same size, both listed at 6-foot-3 and in the range of 270 pounds.
“The thing that attracted us to D-Law back when he was coming out was the incredible effort that he played with was the same effort that you see on Sundays now still, after as many years as he played,” vice president of personnel Will McClay said.
“When that attracts you, it's something that you put in your Rolodex and go, ‘If I see that, I know what it looks like and what it can do.’ Just watching (Kneeland) play, he's bouncing off people and he's chasing screens down,” McClay said.
Defense was the focus on the middle rounds, with Notre Dame linebacker Marist Liufau in the third round at 87th overall. Dallas waited 86 picks before getting cornerback Caelen Carson of Wake Forest at No. 174 overall in the fifth round.
Southeast Missouri State receiver Ryan Flournoy went in the sixth round, and 6-3, 346-pound defensive tackle Justin Rogers of Auburn was the final Dallas pick in the seventh round.
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Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy attends an NFL football news conference in Frisco, Texas, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, right, speaks at an NFL football news conference announcing first round draft pick Tyler Guyton, left, in Frisco, Texas, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
NEW YORK (AP) — To the casual viewer, competing at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show might look pretty simple: Get a dog. Groom it. Pose it. Lead it around a ring.
But there's a lot more involved in reaching the pinnacle of U.S. canine events, now in its 148th year. It's a year that has been challenging for the kennel club: The show chairman died last fall, and a planned judge was charged in March with possession of child sexual abuse materials.
Here are the ins and outs of Westminster, which started Saturday with an agility competition at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York:
Over 2,500 dogs from 200 different breeds and varieties, which are subsets of breeds, signed up to try for the best in show trophy to be awarded Tuesday night.
Hailing from every U.S. state and countries from Chile to Thailand, the lineup includes such familiar breeds as French bulldogs and Labrador retrievers, rarities such as Azawakhs and Norwegian lundehunds and a newcomer, the Lancashire heeler. Chihuahuas are this year’s best-represented breed, with 49 entered.
Two of last year's seven semifinalists are expected back: Trouble, an American Staffordshire terrier, and Monty, a giant schnauzer, who is currently the nation's top-ranked dog in The Canine Chronicle magazine's stats.
Also entered are Comet, a Shih Tzu who won the huge American Kennel Club National Championship show in December, and Stache, a Sealyham terrier who won the National Dog Show that was televised on Thanksgiving.
Then there's Zaida, an Afghan hound fresh off a win at last month's World Dog Show in Croatia. Other big-winning competitors include a German shepherd named Mercedes and an otterhound called Melody.
Westminster's agility and obedience contests Saturday involved a few hundred more dogs, including some mixed-breed ones.
All the dogs are champions, meaning they have racked up a certain amount of points in the sport's complicated system.
The process of becoming a show dog begins when breeders determine which puppies are physically and temperamentally suited for what's known as “conformation” competition.
Some owners show their own dogs. Other canines have professional handlers who crisscross the country to compete most weekends. They might gather intel about rivals' schedules and ponder judges' past picks. Some owners even run full-page ads in canine publications to salute and promote their animals.
“Conformation” dogs first face off against others of their breed, which sometimes can include dozens of others, sometimes few or even none. Each breed's winner moves on to a semifinal round of judging against others in a group of dozens of breeds. In the final round, the seven group winners compete for best in show.
Judges decide which dog best matches the ideal, or “standard,” for its breed. For example, a herding dog might need proportions allowing for tight turns, while some hounds might require thick paw pads for rough terrain.
Judges do hands-on examinations and watch the dogs in motion. Distinctions can be very subtle. Show folk often say victory can go to “the dog on the day,” meaning the one that has the performance of a lifetime.
“At Westminster, all the great dogs are in the same place for one of the only times this year," said dog expert David Frei, who hosted the Westminster telecast for decades. “Everybody wants to be there, and you’re going to have to go head-to-head with your greatest competition.”
Bragging rights and trophies are at stake. There are no cash prizes, though the agility and obedience winners each get to direct a $5,000 Westminster donation to a training club or to the American Kennel Club Humane Fund.
Wire fox terriers have scampered away with the top prize 15 times, most recently in 2019. Poodles of various sizes have won 10 times.
Many breeds have yet to triumph, including such favorites as the Labrador retriever. But a petit basset griffon Vendéen took best in show for the first time last year, as did a bloodhound in 2022.
All winners in the recently added agility and obedience contests also have been purebreds. But there is a special agility prize every year for the top mix, called an “all American dog” in show parlance.
Westminster has long faced protests from animal rights activists who view the competition as a deplorable canine beauty contest fueling faddish puppy buying and reckless breeding. The club routinely counters that it celebrates all dogs while highlighting “preservation” of breeds with particular traits.
But this year's event comes as the U.S. dog show world faces an unexpected and searing reckoning.
Dr. Adam Stafford King, a suburban Chicago veterinarian and Havanese breeder who was set to judge some toy breeds at Westminster, was arrested in March on federal charges of distributing child sexual abuse photos and videos to an online contact. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.
His attorney, Jonathan Bedi, didn't respond to an inquiry from The Associated Press but told Chicago media in April that King has been wrongly accused.
Shortly after King's arrest, the American Kennel Club, which is essentially the governing body for Westminster and thousands of other U.S. dog competitions, revoked his judging privileges and his Westminster appointment was scrapped.
While King’s alleged crimes didn't occur at dog shows, the case helped reveal discussions that had percolated quietly for years about whether the AKC has done enough to protect children who compete and apprentice as handlers. A Business Insider investigation in April found four show-world professionals have been convicted since 2008 of crimes against children, some of them at dog events.
The AKC began requiring its field representatives and registered handlers to complete an abuse prevention program in 2021. The club recently switched to a different program and last month extended the requirement to judges, handlers and some others, covering about 20,000 people, spokesperson Brandi Hunter Munden said.
On Thursday, the club approved a policy that could make it easier to sever ties with people, particularly over conduct outside dog shows. The policy calls for discipline, which can include lifetime suspension, for anyone convicted of a crime or found to have engaged in sex offenses, harassment or any conduct endangering someone else's well-being or that undermines the club, among other misdeeds.
“Our goal is not just to protect the youth in our sport, it’s to protect every individual,” she said. “We want this sport to be safe, inclusive and family-friendly.”
A handler kisses his dog while watching an agility competition during the 148th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
A woman shops with her dog during the 148th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
A handler holds his dog on a leash in the Breed Showcase area during the 148th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
A woman puts on a dog pin during an agility competition during the 148th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Dogs and handlers wait backstage during the 148th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
A dog sleeps in the Breed Showcase area during the 148th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
People and dogs watch the dock diving competition during the 148th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
A dog stands in the Breed Showcase area at the 148th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
A dog competes in an agility competition during the 148th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Shar peis stand in the Breed Showcase area during the 148th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
FILE - A judge examines dogs competing in the bracco Italiano breed during the breed's debut at the 147th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Tuesday, May 9, 2023, in New York. To the casual viewer, competing at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show might look as simple as getting a dog, grooming it and leading it around a ring. But there’s a lot more involved in getting to and exhibiting in the United States’ most prestigious canine event. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz, File)
FILE - Handler Janice Hays poses for photos with Buddy Holly, a petit basset griffon Vendéen, after he won best in show during the 147th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Tuesday, May 9, 2023, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. To the casual viewer, competing at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show might look as simple as getting a dog, grooming it and leading it around a ring. But there’s a lot more involved in getting to and exhibiting in the United States’ most prestigious canine event. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
