How hard is it to be a Dallas Cowboys fan these days? The team can't even get fair value when they trade down. The Cowboys were in a tough spot on draft day when all of their early targets were taken, and the team's performance in the first round was less than inspiring. After trading off the No. 18 pick for a package of draft options, the Cowboys selected offensive center Travis Frederick of Wisconsin.
The problem
The Cowboys spent the 2013 draft watching various offensive linemen fly off the board at lighting speed. By the time the 18th pick rolled around, the Cowboys had two choices: take Sharrif Floyd — an uber-talented Florida defensive tackle who was in free fall due to concerns about a troubled past — or trade down.
The 49ers came calling, and the Cowboys were happy to mover further down in the first round to get some extra picks. This team has several holes and could use as many draft picks as possible to fill them.
Cowboys fans at the draft let Jerry Jones know how they felt, lustily booing and holding up a sign that asked if they could draft a new general manager.
The problem is that the Cowboys got only one third-round pick as an incentive to move down from No. 18 all the way to No. 31 — the second-to-last pick of the first round.
How could the Cowboys not get one more pick in their trade? I have been thumbing through a recent history of NFL draft trades and have yet to find a team that got less for moving back than the Cowboys did.
In short, Dallas got fleeced.
The pick
Once the 31st pick came up, the Cowboys selected offensive center Travis Frederick of Wisconsin. It was certainly a needed pick. The Cowboys were absolutely awful along the offensive line, and Frederick will hopefully help out that unit.
It was a major reach, however, to pick Frederick in the first round. NFL draft guru Mike Mayock says he has a third-round grade on Frederick, and many say the Cowboys could have possibly gotten him in the second round.
All in all, it was an uninspiring pick for which the Cowboys didn't get full value — something the team could least afford to do with so many positional holes to fill next season. Cowboys fans at the draft let Jerry Jones know how they felt, lustily booing and holding up a sign that asked if they could draft a new general manager.
It didn't help matters that Jones took some time off during draft day to attend the opening ceremony at the new George W. Bush Presidential Center, yet another indication that Jones just has too many commitments to be an effective general manager.
A mixed bag
The good thing is that Frederick does come from Wisconsin, a school known for sending tough lineman to the NFL. He's a 6-foot-4, 312-pound center who can also play guard. He has a thick body and doesn't often get pushed backward by defenders — something that happened consistently to Dallas linemen last year.
Frederick is also smart. He majored in computer engineering, which is a very helpful trait to have, because centers are often asked to call out defensive fronts to their fellow offensive linemen.
No analyst predicted that Travis Frederick would be drafted in the first round.
He is a two-year starter who was a first team Big 10 player last year as well as an All-Academic player. All signs point to his being a solid player and a solid citizen with few character concerns, just the kind of players Jason Garrett likes.
The problem is that Frederick is a little chubby in the middle and lacks athleticism. He gets beat by quick defensive linemen, so Tony Romo could still run into some trouble if Frederick can't get out of his stance quick enough to stop a charging defender. He is solid but not at all dominant.
What might have been
Most of the good offensive linemen were gone by the time Dallas picked. Had Dallas wanted to gamble, they could have taken Shariff Floyd and gotten a defensive tackle with a top five draft pick grade.
Floyd has unreal athleticism for a big defensive lineman and could be a major difference maker at a need position for the Cowboys. He's had some character issues in the past, and that was probably what ultimately kept Jason Garret away from him.
Another defensive tackle, Sylvester Williams from North Carolina, could have helped the Cowboys. Unlike Floyd, Williams doesn't have character concerns and, at 370 pounds, could have really helped anchor a week defensive tackle rotation.
It's very possible that the Cowboys thought they would get Williams at No. 31, which is why they traded back. When Williams was taken by Denver right before, Dallas may have panicked and taken Frederick.
The Cowboys also have a big need at safety, and Eric Reid from LSU was there at No. 18. In fact, Reid is who the 49ers traded up to get.
Reid paired with current Cowboy Morris Claiborne to form a dominant secondary at LSU, plus Reid is squeaky clean in the character department. If he goes on to big things in San Francisco, Dallas fans will feel an extra pang of regret that the Cowboys passed on him.
Frederick doesn't deserve all the criticism that will come with his pick, but fans look less than excited about him. The Cowboys didn't get value for trading down and then picked a player that no analysts had going in the first round.
The pressure is on the Cowboys brain trust to make some dynamite picks in the next few rounds to keep this draft from being considered a total disaster.
