Watkins: Why they drafted him - Zack Martin

Cotton

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Why they drafted him: Zack Martin
May, 8, 2014

By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com

IRVING, Texas -- Despite anxious moments in the Dallas Cowboys' war room, the team made the smart decision by drafting Notre Dame tackle Zack Martin on Thursday night with the 16th overall pick of the first round.

While the Cowboys need to upgrade their defense, getting the best player available -- which Martin was apparently -- was more important. Martin won't play tackle as a rookie. He'll compete for one of two guard spots.

There have been health issues with starting left guard Ronald Leary and starting right guard Mackenzy Bernadeau.

Bernadeau missed offseason workouts and the start of training camp last year with a variety of problems. And while he hasn't endured the same health problems as Bernadeau, Leary has a chronic knee condition that might cause problems.

Martin can start at one of these guard spots in 2014. He played guard during the Senior Bowl, which showed NFL teams his ability to switch positions. The Cowboys employ a zone blocking scheme that is predicated on good communication, and Martin played in this system in four seasons with Notre Dame.

But Martin's future is to play right tackle.

Doug Free, the starting right tackle, is signed through 2014 and given his age, 30, the Cowboys are committed to going younger at several positions. If things go according to plan, the Cowboys could have two starting tackles -- left tackle Tyron Smith and Martin -- in their 20s with the projection they will start for at least five years.

To have stability along the offensive line is important to the Cowboys, who want to protect Tony Romo. The 34-year-old quarterback is coming off two back surgeries within the past year.

The Cowboys like the fact Martin was also a two-time team captain and a four-year starter. Stability and respect from his teammates is important to coach Jason Garrett.
 

Plan9Misfit

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It was the right pick. He's a plug and play starter for the next decade to go along with Smith and Fredbeard. You can't go wrong with that.
 

L.T. Fan

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It was the right pick...
I agree. You can build a team or build a circus. Martin is a player. Manzeil would have been a circus. All you have to know is to see how the media reacted to him throughout the first round. When it came time for Dallas to pick, the wind got sucked out of the room because they were poised to jump on the Jones circus if he had taken Manziel.
 

mcnuttz

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I kinda hate that they didn't take a franchise QB who was staring them in the face at 16, but it is nice to see the commitment to the OL. And not just for Romo's sake. It's gonna be frikkin sweet to have a young and talented OL for the next QB to enjoy the benefits of.

I don't think it's a good idea to take a 1st round lineman, though, with thoughts of letting him fill in where needed. Just like the talk of moving Frederick to guard last year. If the guy is a tackle, let him play tackle. If he's a guard, let him learn the NFL game at that position. Tinker around with a 4th or 5th round pick, but let your 1st rounder focus on one job.
 

L.T. Fan

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I kinda hate that they didn't take a franchise QB who was staring them in the face at 16, but it is nice to see the commitment to the OL. And not just for Romo's sake. It's gonna be frikkin sweet to have a young and talented OL for the next QB to enjoy the benefits of.

I don't think it's a good idea to take a 1st round lineman, though, with thoughts of letting him fill in where needed. Just like the talk of moving Frederick to guard last year. If the guy is a tackle, let him play tackle. If he's a guard, let him learn the NFL game at that position. Tinker around with a 4th or 5th round pick, but let your 1st rounder focus on one job.
I think it's premature to label Manziel as a franchise qb. As far as I am concerned he will need to earn that on the field. He may develop nicely but he might be a little inexperienced to outrun an impending beating. He will likely take the field right away in Cleveland then then it's Showtime.
 

GShock

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#1 rated guard from McGinn's series:

1. ZACK MARTIN, Notre Dame (6-4, 309, 5.2, 1) – Started a school-record 52 games, all at LT. "Love him," one scout said. "Not a real bulky guy. All I know is he's got a great jam and can punch the hell out of you. Nobody beats him. Everybody keeps wanting to move him inside. Well, you better have somebody that can block those outside rushers." Height and arm length (327/8) make a move to guard or even center seem inevitable if not immediate. "Damn good," said another scout. "He might be as safe a pick as there is. I like him better than the (David) DeCastro kid (from the 2012 draft). DeCastro never could have played left tackle at Notre Dame." Two-time captain from Indianapolis. Wonderlic scores of 21 and 27. "Much better player than (Justin) Pugh a year ago," a third scout said. "This guy's a tougher, stronger guy. He can get you out of a game as a tackle but he'll be a really good guard."
 

hstour

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I kinda hate that they didn't take a franchise QB who was staring them in the face at 16, but it is nice to see the commitment to the OL. And not just for Romo's sake. It's gonna be frikkin sweet to have a young and talented OL for the next QB to enjoy the benefits of.

I don't think it's a good idea to take a 1st round lineman, though, with thoughts of letting him fill in where needed. Just like the talk of moving Frederick to guard last year. If the guy is a tackle, let him play tackle. If he's a guard, let him learn the NFL game at that position. Tinker around with a 4th or 5th round pick, but let your 1st rounder focus on one job.
Take him and you either lose 2 years of the cheap 5 years you have him or you take a $32M (this year) cap hit or an $11.5M cap hit next year. Not exactly the way to build a winner.
 

Simpleton

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I watched about 3 full games of this guy on YouTube and hardly saw him fuck up once, including against Alabama in the championship 2 years ago.

You can see where the guy could get beat on the edge a bit by speed at the next level but with his athleticism, size and technique, he could be an absolute beast on the interior. If you have this guy playing inside between Smith and Frederick, that could really be something.
 

boozeman

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I watched about 3 full games of this guy on YouTube and hardly saw him fuck up once, including against Alabama in the championship 2 years ago.

You can see where the guy could get beat on the edge a bit by speed at the next level but with his athleticism, size and technique, he could be an absolute beast on the interior. If you have this guy playing inside between Smith and Frederick, that could really be something.
There is a reason why he's regarded as a "safe pick".
 
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