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Dallas Cowboys Travis Frederick named NFL’s Best Run Blocker

By Steven Mullenax

Dec 1, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Travis Frederick (72) during a game at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Cowboys defeated the Vikings 17-15. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 1, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Travis Frederick (72) during a game at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Cowboys defeated the Vikings 17-15. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports /
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Analytical website Pro Football Focus names Dallas Cowboys center Travis Fred0erick the league’s best run blocker in their annual NFL awards.

The Dallas Cowboys offensive line is made up of three perennial Pro Bowlers. Combined, left tackle Tyron Smith, right guard Zack Martin and center Travis Frederick have been to a total of 10 Pro Bowls. And amazingly, all three are 26-years old or younger.

At only 25-years old, Frederick is the baby of this terrifying trio. Although he was selected 31st overall in the 2013 NFL Draft, a full year before Martin was drafted and two years after Smith. All three were first round selections.

The Cowboys heavy investment in their offensive line is now paying dividends. Considered the most talent and scariest positional group in the NFL, Dallas’ O-line helped pave the way for rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott this season.

The Cowboys 2016 first round selection out of Ohio State rush for a league-high 1,631 yards and 15 touchdowns on 322 carries. Elliott was just 178 yards away from breaking Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson‘s all-time rookie rushing record (1,808). And Zeke was held out of the Cowboys final game of the regular season.

Elliott certainly benefited from playing with an excellent offensive line. And specifically from the play of Frederick, whom the premier analytical football website, Pro Football Focus, recently named the best run blocker in the NFL.

"“To really appreciate Frederick’s greatness though, you have to watch him against the best of the best,” wrote Michael Renner for Pro Football Focus. “In the four games he played against arguably the top three nose tackles in the NFL — Damon Harrison (twice), Danny Shelton and Linval Joseph — Frederick came away with an above-average game every time. In fact, if you extrapolate out his grades from those games into a full 16-game season, he still would have finished as one of the five-highest-graded centers in the league.”"

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Travis Frederick and the Dallas Cowboys terrific offensive line are the best in the NFL. And they are all still very young, with many more years of excellent football ahead of them. With a running back like Elliott in the backfield, the sky is the limit for this positional group. Fans just hope Frederick and his teammates will be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy a time or two before their careers are over.

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