Cowboys on the Clock: Travis Frederick, #31 Overall

Welcome to Cowboys on the Clock! We are 31 days away from the 2016 NFL Draft, and that means we will be looking at the last player the Dallas Cowboys selected with the 31st overall pick.

As we inch closer to draft day, we will run through each pick that corresponds with the remaining days until the Tennessee Titans go on the clock with the first overall pick on April 28th.

So, lets get things started, and take a look at one of the anchors along the Cowboys star-studded offensive line:

Travis Frederick C[get_helmet team=”dal” face=”l” align=”right” size=”md”]

The Cowboys traded back in the 2013 draft to select Frederick with the 31st pick. The trade was made with the San Francisco 49ers, who also gave Dallas an additional third round pick – which was used on Terrance Williams.

Thus, the Cowboys got two starters out of this deal, although some would have never expected so when they took Frederick out of Wisconsin. Eight offensive linemen were selected before Travis in the first round, who had second and third round grades.

Frederick stepped in right away to replace Phil Costa as the starting center in his rookie season, and played in every game on his way to the NFL All-Rookie team. Anchoring an offensive line that led DeMarco Murray to 1,121 yards, Frederick showed us a glimpse of what was in store for 2014.

In his second season with the team, Frederick once again started all 16 games at the center of the best offensive line in football. Zack Martin was added alongside him at right guard in the 2014 draft, and together this unit led Murray to a career best 1,845 yards.

The Cowboys dominant ground game led them to a 12 win season and a trip to Lambeu Field for the NFC Divisional Playoffs – where there season ended in controversy at the hands of the Green Bay Packers.

This past season, the Cowboys season took a turn for the worst when they lost Tony Romo to injury in week 2. Still, Frederick started every game, snapping the ball to a carousel of signal callers that included Brandon Weeden, Matt Cassel, and Kellen Moore.

Frederick was then named to his second straight Pro Bowl, where he reversed his role at the end of the game to actually take the last snap of the 2015 game.

Like everyone in Cowboys Nation, Frederick can look forward to the return of Romo in 2016 – as he hopes to once again lead a dominant offensive line for the Cowboys while they attempt to get back to their winning ways.

More importantly for Travis Frederick, this upcoming season will be his contract year. The expectation is that the starting center that has never missed a game will return to Dallas, on a pretty expensive contract.

Cowboys on the Clock will be shifting to Cowboys Beyond the Clock for the next two days, as the team has never selected with the 30th or 29th pick of the first round. Instead, our Dante Giannetta will be looking at some of the greatest players to wear the silver and blue that were not drafted.

Let me know what you think of this series with a comment below, as I will be running Cowboys on the Clock all the way up until the draft!