PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Cowboys have signed offensive linemen Mackenzy Bernadeau and Nate Livings in free agency this offseason, so owner/general manger Jerry Jones said the team's first round pick, 14th overall, might not revolve around getting another.

"Well, yes, but we probably wouldn’t prefer that. I wouldn’t," he said. "That would keep us from maybe having to pick a top [defensive] player there in the first round and the offensive line. I did it both ways. It left us totally flexible there. You might want to move down and pick up a player that’s going to be there rather than being at your 14th -- you might not have been able to do that had you not had the success that we had in free agency."

Jones said he's confident in the fact center Phil Costa (undersized at 6-3, 314 pounds), would be surrounded by Bernadeau and Livings, and that would help him have a much better 2012 season.

Costa might get more competition at that spot from not only Kevin Kowalski but Bill Nagy as well. Nagy started the first four games of the 2011 season before suffering a season-ending ankle injury.

"Jason [Garrett] is right. The competition is a big part of why Costa should have success here and why he ought to be better," Jones said. "There is some competition here.

It gives us great depth."