The 2020 NFL Draft is right around the corner, and with it comes a great time for reflection on how your team has done on draft day in the past.
For the Dallas Cowboys, it’s sort of a been a tale of two halves. The beginning of the decade saw the Cowboys completely rebuild the infrastructure of their team with top notch talent, while the back-half of the decade included some high profile misses (looking at you, 2018 Draft).
Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport named the best draft pick of the decade across the NFL, with Zack Martin earning the honor for the Dallas Cowboys.
“There isn’t a GM in the league who has hit on a higher percentage of Round 1 picks in recent years. Since 2010, Jones has made nine first-round selections. Seven have played in at least one Pro Bowl.”
To say Martin had competition for this honor would be an understatement. Dallas has owned the first round for much of the last decade, drafting Pro Bowlers and All Pros like Ezekiel Elliott, Travis Frederick, Byron Jones, and Tyron Smith.
But Zack Martin is the winner here, and I don’t disagree with Gary’s logic whatsoever. Martin is on a Hall of Fame trajectory, being named first team All Pro four of his first six seasons and making the Pro Bowl each of his six years.
If not the single best at his position in a given year, Zack Martin has been top 2 or 3 among all offensive guards across the league since his rookie season. Martin’s infusion into the 2014 Cowboys offense instantly created the league’s best offensive line, and catapulted their offense into an elite level.
He is the team’s best player, and now with Travis Frederick’s retirement his job has become even more important.
