With the 28th pick in the second round, No. 60 overall, the Dallas Cowboys selected Randy Gregory, defensive end out of Nebraska.

It has been Dallas’ modus operandi to make aggressive moves in the draft to move up and get players they covet. But this year the Cowboys have played it cool, let the draft come to them and it’s worked to perfection. After addressing a clear need in the secondary with the first round selection of Byron Jones, Dallas continued to upgrade their defense by selecting Gregory, one of the top-rated pass rushers in the draft.

Gregory’s stock has fallen drastically over the last few months, due to off the field issues. It started dropping with a failed drug test at the NFL Scouting Combine and continued to plummet this week amid reports that Gregory has missed a number of pre-draft meetings with teams interested in picking him.

Apparently the Cowboys weren’t one of those teams, and they haven’t shied away from adding talented but troubled players this offseason. Look no further than Greg Hardy to prove that. Dallas reportedly strongly considered selecting Gregory at No. 27 before settling on Jones. But thanks to the 22-year-old’s litany of issues, he was still right there waiting for them at the bottom of round two.

This wouldn’t have been the pick for me here, and not just because of the off the field issues, though they do play a role in my thought process. More than that however, I really thought they would and should target a running back to replace DeMarco Murray here. Remarkably, one of the best backs in the draft, Indiana’s Tevin Coleman — the No. 2 back on my proverbial board — remains undrafted and he’d be a great fit in the Dallas offense. But we have yet to see the run on running backs many were expecting after round one, so the Cowboys might still find a great fit for the backfield in Round 3.

With that in mind, I definitely get this pick from Dallas’ perspective. Cowboys fans have been begging for the team to address the defense in a meaningful way through the draft and it seems they’ve turned the keys over to defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli for this one to do just that. If the Cowboys can get Gregory to grow up, he can be an incredible talent off the edge.

For all the uncertainty surrounding Gregory due to his off the field issues and questionable commitment, there’s no doubting his physical tools as a football player. He’s one of the most athletically gifted players in this draft and adding some technique to his size, length and speed could make him into one of the most fearsome defensive ends in the league in short order. He’s already strong against the run and was arguably the best pass rusher in the class, though he did it from 3-4 outside linebacker and will have to make some adjustments and learn some thing to fit into Dallas’ 4-3.

But Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli has made more out of less and he’s going to have a field day molding Gregory into an elite end. Adding Gregory and Hardy to the defensive end mix instantly upgrades what was one of Dallas’ biggest weakness last season.