AP

It’s clear that the Cowboys need to draft another quarterback, especially if they want to create the kind of Brett Favre-Aaron Rodgers handoff that owner Jerry Jones dreams of.

But if they’re picking one this year, it may not be with their first pick.

Tucked into a story about developmental prospects at the position, Gil Brandt of NFL.com offered a revealing nugget of information about their plans, alluding to a conversation with Jones.

“Jerry told me recently that he will unequivocally not take a quarterback at No. 4, where the Cowboys draft this year,” Brandt wrote. “I believe him.”

Brandt’s long-standing history with the Cowboys gives him a unique viewpoint on their dealings. And his position with the league’s own network when it comes to all things draft makes him a useful bullhorn with which Jones can broadcast that information.

It’s easy to talk about using a second- or third-rounder on a guy and stashing him for a few years and hoping he turns into Tony Romo for a clean baton pass later, but harder to pull that trick off. The thing about the Favre-Rodgers transition was that the Packers had to be willing to bypass immediate need in 2005 for a player talented enough to make it go smoothly down the road.

It’s also easy to look at the Cowboys roster, and see more holes that could be filled with the fourth overall pick, which makes such a pick a bit of a luxury in the short-term.

At least until Romo breaks a collarbone again, and the Cowboys are faced with another lost season like the last one, when they may wish they’d have used a high pick on a quarterback when they had one to use.