Pro Football Focus recently named the best player at each draft slot in the last 15 NFL drafts. While they may not have reaped much playoff success off their hauls, right near the top of the list sit the Dallas Cowboys.
The Cowboys had three clear candidates for this experiment with Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, and Zack Martin, all who are Hall of fame Caliber players. Ultimately, Frederick and Martin were the two that made the cut for their draft slots of 31 and 16, respectively.
Smith was noted as an honorable mention for the best No. 9 pick, behind former Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly, but had Smith’s health been better in recent seasons he may have been the third Cowboy selected to the list.
Earlier in the week PFF conducted a similar demonstration but in reverse, as they found the worst draft picks from each first-round slot in the last 15 seasons. Thankfully, the Cowboys were not featured there, avoiding catastrophic picks. That being said, let’s take a look at PFF’s reasoning for the two Cowboys that made the positive version of the list.
16. 2014 Dallas Cowboys: G Zack Martin, Notre Dame
Zack Martin #70 of the Dallas Cowboys (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
“The league’s most consistent guard since he entered the NFL, Martin is on a Hall of Fame trajectory. The big “what if” with Martin is if he had simply stayed at his college position of tackle. He played a game and a half there this past season and didn’t allow a pressure on 41 pass-blocking snaps.” -PFF On a draft night where many Cowboy fans were hoping for Johnny Manziel, the Cowboys could not have made a better decision by passing on Manziel for the future Hall of Famer, Martin. A consistently dominant guard, PFF’s Mike Renner ponders on if Martin had played tackle throughout his NFL career, because there is really no doubt that Martin could have excelled at any position across the offensive front.
31. 2013 Dallas Cowboys: C Travis Frederick, Wisconsin
Dallas Cowboys center Travis Frederick (72). Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
“Frederick’s career was unfortunately cut short, but he was the class of the center position in the NFL from the day he stepped foot on an NFL field. He didn’t earn a single grade below 82.7 until he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome.” -PFF While some “experts” questioned the value on draft night, Frederick quickly proved any doubters wrong. Frederick career was unfortunately cut short, as played just six seasons. The Wisconsin Badger certainly made the most of those six seasons, making five pro bowls never missing a start to injury, other than 2018 when he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome. Frederick
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