The 2013 NFL Draft started off as a head scratcher.
Fans and analysts alike were wondering why the Cowboys had traded down in the first round from 18th to 31st overall, when they seemingly had multiple holes which needed to be addressed.
In the end the Cowboys landed center Travis Frederick, who went on to anchor one of the best offensive lines the league has ever seen from 2014-2016. Frederick earned All Pro, Pro Bowl, and every honor in book during his time in Dallas. And while his career was cut short this offseason, Dallas would “re-draft” Travis Frederick ten times out of time.
But in this case – they weren’t even given the chance!
Bleacher Report has been re-drafting the drafts of the last decade over on their site, with 2013 as the topic this week. In this scenario, the Cowboys missed out on Travis Frederick, who went 7th overall to the Arizona Cardinals.
You’ll remember that Arizona actually look offensive guard Jonathan Cooper, so Frederick obviously would’ve been the better pick in hindsight.
This left Dallas to stay put in their 18th selection, this time taking offensive lineman Larry Warford.
“Larry Warford didn’t take long to make an impact with the Detroit Lions—he started 16 games as a rookie and didn’t allow a sack. After four years with the Lions, Warford signed a four-year, $34 million free-agent deal with the New Orleans Saints.”
Honestly, this would’ve been a very solid pick had Frederick went before the Cowboys could snag him. Warford has been a really good guard for the Saints in recent years, and could’ve made his home next to another center in Dallas.
What’s interesting, though, is if they had taken Warford, do they still take Zack Martin the next year? Warford would’ve been one of their guards of the future, and he and Martin could’ve played together, but would they have gone guard back to back round ones? Maybe this would’ve opened the door for the infamous Johnny Football argument.
We’ll never know, honestly, but it’s still a pandemic and what else should we argue about?
