Archer: Cowboys, Travis Frederick can have last laugh with new deal

Cotton

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Cowboys, Travis Frederick can have last laugh with new deal

Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer

OXNARD, Calif. -- It all seems funny now that Travis Frederick has proven most of the draftniks wrong.

When the Dallas Cowboys used the 31st pick in the first round of the 2013 draft on the Wisconsin center, they were mostly panned. ESPN Insider Todd McShay had Frederick as a third-round pick on his draft board. A day after the Cowboys picked Frederick, ESPN’s Ed Werder polled five teams and the best grade was the fourth round. One team had him as a borderline sixth or seventh round pick.

On Sunday Frederick officially signed the six-year extension he agreed to on Saturday night moments before the Cowboys opened the preseason against the Los Angeles Rams.

Now that he has signed a contract extension averaging $9.4 million per year, the highest in the NFL, the Cowboys can have the last laugh four years after selecting Frederick if they choose.

“Yeah, we don’t spend a lot of time worrying what other people think,” coach Jason Garrett said. “We focus on how we want to build our team, the kind of players we want to bring in, and in his case, really someone we believe is a cornerstone player and we felt that about him at the time. He was a very good college football player, and sometimes people get caught up in the wrong things when you evaluate him. We felt good about him, we were excited to draft him, we are excited to have him on our team and extend him for a long time.”

Frederick, who ran the 40-yard dash in 5.56 seconds at the scouting combine, has not missed a game or a start in his career. He has been named to the Pro Bowl the last two years. He is largely considered one of the best centers in the game.

The Cowboys targeted the offensive line for the 2013 draft but by the time they picked after trading down with the San Francisco 49ers, they were nearly wiped out of offensive linemen. Frederick carried a second-round grade on the Cowboys’ board as the highest rated center.

“I think there’s always been a little bit of pressure,” Frederick said. “Coming in everybody doubted me being drafted in the first round. The commitment that the Cowboys have made in the offensive line in general, for us we thrive on that. We just kind of do our own thing. It doesn’t matter to us what anybody else thinks. It’s what happens in the room and how we live up to our standards.”
 

jsmith6919

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Shut the fuck up garrett, we know you just wanted yet another te that draft
 

mcnuttz

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It's great the way they've built the OL, such a 180 in terms of the focus they've put on it. Ignored for years, minus an overpayment for FA's here and there.

Now if the DL could be stood up in a similar fashion this team might have some success.
 

Cotton

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Yep. He had a boner for Tyler Eifert.
And, was visibly pissed on the war room cam as that pick approached because he wasn't going to get his way.
 

Jiggyfly

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We really dodged a bullet in that 2013 draft.

It was widely reported Pugh would have been the pick if the Giants did not take him.
 

boozeman

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We really dodged a bullet in that 2013 draft.

It was widely reported Pugh would have been the pick if the Giants did not take him.
Pugh is no Zack Martin, but he is a decent player.
 

Jiggyfly

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Pugh is no Zack Martin, but he is a decent player.
Decent?

He has yet to become more than average and has been tried at 3 different positions, I would not trade him for any starter right now on our team.

That is not what I want out of a 1st round pick.
 

boozeman

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Decent?

He has yet to become more than average and has been tried at 3 different positions, I would not trade him for any starter right now on our team.

That is not what I want out of a 1st round pick.
He has been a better player than Claiborne.

And I would trade several defensive starters for him. That's a pretty dumb statement.
 

Simpleton

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Pugh is no Zack Martin, but he is a decent player.
Agreed, I wouldn't say it's dodging a bullet so much as getting lucky on Frederick. Like Shazier is a good player who we preferred to Martin supposedly, that's not dodging a bullet because Shazier is a fine LB but we just got lucky with a superior player falling into our lap.

Dodging a bullet would have been the Rams turning down our offer for Claiborne and ending up with Cox at 14, or if Lynch busts in Denver.
 

Jiggyfly

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Agreed, I wouldn't say it's dodging a bullet so much as getting lucky on Frederick. Like Shazier is a good player who we preferred to Martin supposedly, that's not dodging a bullet because Shazier is a fine LB but we just got lucky with a superior player falling into our lap.

Dodging a bullet would have been the Rams turning down our offer for Claiborne and ending up with Cox at 14, or if Lynch busts in Denver.
Frazier would have been a great piece on the defense.

So far Pugh is a guy who you are looking to upgrade from that's dodging a bullet in a 1st round pick.
 

Simpleton

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Frazier would have been a great piece on the defense.

So far Pugh is a guy who you are looking to upgrade from that's dodging a bullet in a 1st round pick.
They exercised his 5th year option which is probably somewhere around 8 million and I believe I read they want to work out an extension. Doesn't sound like a guy they're looking to upgrade from.
 

Jiggyfly

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They exercised his 5th year option which is probably somewhere around 8 million and I believe I read they want to work out an extension. Doesn't sound like a guy they're looking to upgrade from.
They really have no choice considering all of the other holes on that team.

He seems to have stabilized as a player but he would be a whipping boy around here, worse than free.

I mean are you really saying you would be OK with what you have gotten out of him considering his draft position?
 

Cowboysrock55

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They really have no choice considering all of the other holes on that team.

He seems to have stabilized as a player but he would be a whipping boy around here, worse than free.

I mean are you really saying you would be OK with what you have gotten out of him considering his draft position?
He looked like a bust early in his career but is rounding into solid starter type. No one you would really want to take in the first round or bust out 8 mil a year for but not awful either.
 

Simpleton

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He looked like a bust early in his career but is rounding into solid starter type. No one you would really want to take in the first round or bust out 8 mil a year for but not awful either.
Yes, this.

If you took him a round later you'd be happy with him. To me, dodging a bullet is someone who is a straight up bust and nearly out of the league.
 

Rev

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For example.... Jerry being talked out of Manziel.
 

Jiggyfly

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He looked like a bust early in his career but is rounding into solid starter type. No one you would really want to take in the first round or bust out 8 mil a year for but not awful either.
That's pretty much how I feel.

You also have to look at the domino effect, would they have drafted Martin if the idea was to move Pugh inside?
 

Chocolate Lab

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Garrett said:
“Yeah, we don’t spend a lot of time worrying what other people think
Biggest LMAO ever for someone more concerned about his image and perception than any coach I've ever seen.
 
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