Ed Werder explains why the Cowboys were trying to get another pick in the first round to draft quarterback Paxton Lynch. (1:31)

Cowboys tried to get back in 1st round to get Lynch (1:31)

IRVING, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones did not get much sleep after the first round of the draft.

He couldn't get Paxton Lynch out of his head.

The Cowboys attempted to trade back into the first round to select Lynch, working through a number of trades only to see their final attempt with Seattle fall through when the Seahawks agreed to a deal with the Denver Broncos.

Missing out on QB Paxton Lynch was still eating at Jerry Jones a day later. Joe Robbins/Getty Images

"I got to bed about 3 thinking about the Lynch thing, got up at 6 and before the morning was over had talked to six people about how I messed it up," Jones said Saturday. "I was still mad about it the next morning."

The Cowboys offered Seattle their second- and third-round picks, but the Seahawks took the Broncos' first- and third-round selections.

Jones' regret was not sweetening the offer.

"I really have added it up, and you all don't need philosophy here but ... when I look back on my life I've overpaid for my big successes every time, and when I've tried to get a bargain or get a little cheaper or get a better deal on it, I ended up usually either getting it and not happy I got it or missing [it]," Jones said.

"I probably should have overpaid here."

But as Jones looks back on not making the deal, he sees what the Cowboys gained in taking linebacker Jaylon Smith and defensive tackle Maliek Collins with the second- and third-rounders the Seahawks rejected -- especially Smith, who will not play in 2016 as he recovers from a significant knee injury.

"I'm ready to take the pain for the gain on Smith because the upside is so big," Jones said.

The Cowboys attempted to move to the very top of the fourth round Saturday to take Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook, but couldn't. The Oakland Raiders moved up in a deal with the Cleveland Browns and took Cook.

"The fact that we didn't get him there, don't interpret that as much with as hard as we worked on Lynch," Jones said. "Those were different intensities, different stakes."

Jones's third swing at a quarterback came through when the Cowboys selected Dak Prescott with their second fourth-round pick. He said the grade on Cook was not much different than the grade on Prescott.

"I liked what we got," Jones said.