Cowboys

Cowboys S Caleb Downs believes he can play every position in the defensive backfield, and team owner Jerry Jones noted his excitement for the selection of Downs, as well as pass rusher Malachi Lawrence, later in the round.

“I think it’s just being able to make plays in all facets of the game,” Downs said, via Tommy Yarrish of the team website. “Whether that’s near the line of scrimmage or in the deep part of the field, I feel like I could do it all and it’ll be a great relationship to be able to do that with the Cowboys.”

“He was a prize for us sitting there,” Jones said of Downs later on Thursday. “He’s a prize for us sitting there with the fives (fifth-round picks), without the fives, when it would absolutely cut your heart out. And we’ve had it done. I’ve had it done. I was just thinking of the times that we’ve been the next pick and had somebody move up and get him. We had every reason to think that that might be happening. … Didn’t want to lose him.”

Eagles

Eagles GM Howie Roseman is committed to the fact that WR A.J. Brown is still a member of the team despite rumors that he will be shipped off to the Patriots after the draft.

“A.J. is a member of the Eagles,” Roseman told Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “We don’t have any trades that have been made, or that are done. And I think for us, we’re taking this one day at a time. We’re going to look to improve the team tomorrow, and we’ll continue to address anything that we have to with our roster, not only through this draft weekend, but we’ll continue to look for ways to improve the team throughout the offseason, and as we get into training camp.”

Giants

Giants HC John Harbaugh made Ohio State LB Arvell Reese the first draft pick of the team’s new era and is excited about deploying him all over the field. Harbaugh also noted that the team would play Francis Mauigoa at guard, and the 20-year-old said he has received a clean bill of health.

“Arvell is a versatile player, and we’re going to play him at inside backer, Will linebacker,” Harbaugh said, via NFL.com. “Our defense is pretty flexible, position-less you might call it. We’ll have an opportunity to move those guys around. But he’ll line up next to Tremaine (Edmunds), and he’ll be in the A gap, the B gap, the C gap, the D gap, off the edge. He’ll be moving around with all of our guys.”

“We’re going to put him inside at guard,” Harbaugh added on Mauigoa. “He can certainly play tackle. Sometimes we call these schools and get the film, and they have two really good rushers down there in Miami in (Ahkeem) Mesidor and (Rueben) Bain, and to watch the practice film — he’s going against NFL dudes on a daily basis, and doing a really good job, it was pretty impressive. He can certainly always bump back out to tackle at any point. We’re going to start him at guard.”

“I haven’t really thought about it. I know my body, but the physicians know more about me but I know my body. I feel really good and ready to go day one,” Mauigoa told reporters. “They were saying I’m good. They did all the testing and stuff and they didn’t find anything. It’s just an image at that point, but I wasn’t really paying attention; I was just ready to play ball. “Like I said, I didn’t really pay attention to it, but I know some physicians told me some advice for later on, but I’ll handle that when the time comes. Right now, my body is feeling great. I can’t wait to get back to it.”