FRISCO Deandre Baker Jersey , Texas (AP) —the highest-paid player in franchise history and gave him a pass-rushing partner on the other side in a trade for Robert Quinn.Even after the two biggest offseason moves for owner/general manager Jerry Jones and company, defensive line remains a high priority in the draft.The Cowboys probably won’t pick until the second round Friday after trading their first-round choice to Oakland for receiver Amari Cooper last season.“We think it’s probably the deepest position in this draft,” said executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones, Jerry’s oldest son. “We think it’s deeper than it’s been in many years.”Coming off their second NFC East title and first playoff win in three seasons with the star pairing of quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott, the Cowboys have the 58th overall pick in the second round.The signing of Lawrence to a $105 million, five-year contract after a second consecutive Pro Bowl season answered the most pressing question for Dallas going into the draft. At $21 million per year, the deal surpasses retired quarterback Tony Romo and other big-name predecessors. It also gives the Cowboys a feeling of freedom.“That’s our goal every offseason is to accomplish that and not feel like, ‘Hey we’ve got to take a certain position with the first pick or this second pick or we’ve got to address this position at least by the second or third round,'” Stephen Jones said. “It’s nice not to be able to do that, and I think that’s why we’ve had success in the draft.”Before the addition of Quinn, the two best pass rushers on the Dallas roster were second-rounders.One was early in the second with Lawrence, the first defensive end taken by the Cowboys after they released franchise sacks leader DeMarcus Ware in 2014. The other was late in the second in Randy Gregory http://www.giantsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-oshane-ximines-jersey , drafted in 2015 after he slid out of the first round because of off-field concerns.Gregory is suspended indefinitely, his fourth ban for substance-abuse violations, and 2017 first-rounder Taco Charlton has not progressed as hoped. Because of that, the Cowboys won’t rule out taking another pass rusher with their first pick.But it wouldn’t be a shock if Dallas drafted an interior defensive lineman before the third round for the first time since taking Russell Maryland No. 1 overall in 1991.Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli believes in making productive tackles out of lower-round picks. But if Dallas breaks that mold, Miami’s Gerald Willis could be among the prospects.Safety is also a popular choice in mock drafts.“We’ve put ourselves in a position to have total flexibility as to taking care of a need,” Jerry Jones said. “We’re still looking at defensive line. We’ve got some options at tight end. We’ve got some options at safety.”SPEAKING OF TIGHT ENDThe return of Jason Witten makes tight end one of the more intriguing topics. The 11-time Pro Bowler is poised to set the club record with his 16th season after deciding to come back following a one-year retirement to be the lead analyst for ESPN’s “Monday Night Football.”Witten, who signed a one-year deal worth up to $5 million, will be 37 and supposedly won’t take virtually every snap the way he did for 15 years. But even Jerry Jones admits he’ll have to see that to believe it.The Cowboys drafted Dalton Schultz in the fourth round last year, and 24-year-old Blake Jarwin tied a club record for a tight end with three touchdown catches in the regular-season finale, a 36-35 win over the New York Giants. Dallas likes both, but still might be looking for its next two-way standout at tight end.SPEAKING OF SAFETYDallas never got serious in the bidding for free agent Earl Thomas (the three-time All-Pro went to Baltimore) and settled for inexpensive and steady seven-year veteran George Iloka. There’s little question safety tops the list of positions needing a young potential star for the Cowboys.The most recent time they drafted a safety higher than the third round was Roy Williams, a 2002 first-rounder. Byron Jones Julian Love Jersey , a late first-round pick in 2015, played safety early in his career after getting drafted as a cornerback.ELLIOTT’S BACKUPIt seems crazy to consider running back a position of need for a team with a starter who will be 24 and already has two rushing titles in three seasons (Elliott).But seldom-used Rod Smith hasn’t re-signed, and the Cowboys would be intrigued if one of the draft’s better backs were available late in the second round.“We can’t and I don’t expect to have a substitute for Zeke,” Jerry Jones said. “But someone that can do what Zeke does, which is not necessarily a change-of-pace guy, is the preference for me.” SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The most glaring need for the San Francisco 49ers this offseason was clear after the defense set records for futility with just seven takeaways and two interceptions last season.The team’s first two big moves of the new league year were made to address that deficiency with the additions of an edge rusher in Dee Ford, who has a propensity for strip sacks, and a speedy linebacker in Kwon Alexander, who has a knack for finding the ball.“That wasn’t fun to watch,” general manager John Lynch said Thursday. “It is something we have to live with. It’s a reality, and we needed to change that. These are the type of players that we believe can reverse that trend. Starting with Kwon. He’s always around the ball. There’s so many things to like http://www.giantsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-darius-slayton-jersey , but that is definitely something that jumps. And then Dee, he has a knack for getting the ball out. Eight forced fumbles last year, and that first step is lethal. We think that can help our entire team get that virus going, where we’re taking away the ball on a regular basis.”The 49ers paid a big price for these additions, trading a 2020 second-round pick to Kansas City to acquire Ford and then giving him a five-year, $87.5 million contract, and signing Alexander to a four-year deal worth $54 million.Ford had a career-high 13 sacks last season and led the NFL with seven forced fumbles. He also led all edge rushers with 84 total quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, making him exactly the kind of playmaker the 49ers lacked on defense this past season.“It’s really a mindset and muscle memory,” Ford said of forcing turnovers. “It’s not really an intricate skill to have. It’s just a mindset. Most guys get to the quarterback and just want to take him down. Just switch the mentality and knock the ball out. You have to work it. Everything happens so fast so it needs to be muscle memory to go for the ball.”The 49ers haven’t had an edge rusher reach double digits in sacks since Aldon Smith had 19 1/2 in 2012 and have the fifth-fewest overall sacks in the NFL the past six seasons. DeForest Buckner led the team with 12 sacks this past season, mostly from an interior spot.Alexander, coming off a torn ACL Quinnen Williams Jersey , has six career interceptions, six forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and seven sacks in 46 games.“Speed and violence affect the quarterback and make people do stupid things before they want to,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “Both of these guys have a lot of speed, and they both play very violent.”With Ford slated to start at defensive end in the Leo position on San Francisco’s defense, the strategy in the draft could be altered. The Niners have the second overall pick and could be in position to take Ohio State’s Nick Bosa, who is projected to play the same role.Now they could be in position to move down in the draft or look at a rush linebacker like Josh Allen.“We’re evaluating everyone,” Lynch said. “Having Dee just makes us a better football team, and the draft’s something separate. Yes, those two do interact at some point, but we’ll see. We’re going to go out there and look. At No. 2, you want to have a great football player. That’s what we’re looking for and we’ll see where it ends up.”The 49ers also signed cornerback Jason Verrett to a one-year deal http://www.jetsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-jachai-polite-jersey , receiver Jordan Matthews to a one-year contract, linebacker David Mayo to a two-year contract, and agreed on a one-year deal to bring back safety Antone Exum. San Francisco also released linebacker Brock Coyle, who announced he will retire after suffering a back injury last season.Verrett is a 2014 first-round pick by the Chargers and made the Pro Bowl in 2015. But he has played only five games the past three seasons after suffering knee injuries in 2016 and ’17 and then tearing his Achilles tendon during a conditioning test on the first day of training camp last year.Verrett will compete with 2017 third-round pick Ahkello Witherspoon and 2018 third-rounder Tarvarius Moore for the starting spot across from Richard Sherman.“It’s a smile now, cry later type of thing for me,” Verrett said of his run of injuries. “It was a lot of dark moments dealing with the injuries, but I came out of the tunnel and I’m ready to get things rolling.”Matthews is a cousin of former 49ers great Jerry Rice and has always wanted to play for the team. He was a second-round pick by Philadelphia in 2014 and has 270 catches for 3,255 yards and 22 TDs in five seasons with the Eagles and Buffalo.Matthews averaged 75 catches a year his first three seasons before being slowed by injuries in 2017 with the Bills and a lack of opportunities last season with the Eagles after returning to Philadelphia.Mayo was a special teams standout for Carolina who offers depth at inside linebacker for San Francisco.Exum spent the past two seasons with the 49ers and started seven games at safety in 2018.