Any latent doubts the Dallas Cowboys' brass might have harbored about first-round pick Byron Jones as merely a Combine warrior have been quickly dismissed in offseason practices.
Owner Jerry Jones is so excited about Jones that he gets "visions of sugar plums" when he thinks about the freakishly athletic former UConn cornerback playing in nickel packages.
"I don't think we could have asked for more, sitting here today, than what he's shown," Jerry Jones said this week, via The Dallas Morning News. "He certainly has shown the athletic ability, which was a given, but he's shown the instincts, shown the ability to have position flex of corner as well as safety. ... He is everything as advertised."
Byron Jones has also impressed defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson and quarterback Tony Romo.
"I think he's done a phenomenal job coming in and we've thrown a lot at him," Henderson said. "He's played corner, he's played nickel, he's played dime, he's played safety. He's actually played them in the same practice, moving around to different spots."
Romo pointed to Jones as one player who has caught his eye this offseason.
Jones isn't the only rookie garnering praise now that the offseason program has wrapped up.
Jerry Jones also likes what he's seen from second-round pass rusher Randy Gregory.
"It's easy to see his talent, very easy to see," Jones said, via the Fort-Worth Star Telegram. "His willingness to take coaching from his teammates, as well as the coaches themselves -- all of those things, you like. Those are intangibles."
Throw in rookie offensive linemanLa'el Collins, and the Cowboys have a trio of first-round talents generating excitement with training camp on the horizon.
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