FRISCO, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys need to help their defense.

How many times has that been written over the past four or five years, if not longer?

Well, now maybe the Cowboys actually will help their defense. The needs are obvious: pass rush and cornerbacks.

In December, Todd McShay had the Cowboys selecting Stanford defensive end Solomon Thomas. In Mel Kiper Jr.'s mock draft, Thomas went No. 9 overall.

Kiper has the Cowboys selecting Washington cornerback Sidney Jones.

As with McShay’s first mock, let’s not debate who Kiper picked, because these names are largely meaningless at this point. Jones might be a fine player. I’m not going to pretend to have seen him play a down this season and make a judgment on him.

But let’s look at the position.

Taking a cornerback makes perfect sense.

Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr will be free agents in March. There is no feeling as to one being back or one going away. You can make cases either way.

Carr had his best season with the Cowboys, even if he intercepted just one pass. He was physical. He took on the role of a No. 1 cornerback, following receivers like Odell Beckham Jr. all over the field. Carr’s best asset is availability. He has not missed a game in his career.

Claiborne missed nine games because of a groin injury and was hurt in the playoff game. He hasn’t played a full season in his career and has played more than 11 games in a season just once. Though he was off to the best start of his career before getting hurt, he missed more games than he played.

The Cowboys might be willing to give him another one-year deal, but they can’t let that stop them from going after highly-rated cornerbacks.

Orlando Scandrick is signed through 2019 and played better as the season went on. The general thinking is that a player does better in his second season after a torn anterior cruciate ligament and Scandrick was better later in the season than earlier. Sixth-round pick Anthony Brown exceeded expectations as an outside corner and in the slot. He could be a fixture in the secondary as well.

But teams need a lot of cornerbacks. At times the Cowboys had to move Byron Jones to cornerback or rely on Leon McFadden because of injuries.

At 6-foot-1, Jones has the height the Cowboys want, but at 180 pounds, he is rather slight. In their defense, cornerbacks have to be willing tacklers. Maybe Jones is that guy. Again, I’m not going to pretend to know his game, but as you study the draft, pay attention to height, weight and ball skills. Jones had nine interceptions in his career. He also forced six fumbles.

In Kiper's mock draft, Jones was the sixth cornerback selected in the first round. Seven defensive linemen/pass-rushers went before the Cowboys selected.

Though the names will move around, the positons available will largely be the same. That might be the best takeaway from these early mock drafts.