Fourth-rounder named Cowboys 2021 breakout candidate
One of the main reasons the 6-10 Dallas Cowboys failed to meet lofty expectations in 2020 was due to injuries. The biggest absence obviously being quarterback Dak Prescott, who was lost for the season after suffering a devastating ankle injury in Week Five.
The Cowboys also suffered heavy losses along their offensive line. Starting right tackle La’el Collins didn’t play a single snap in 2020 due to a hip injury. Starting left tackle Tyron Smith missed 14 games because of a neck injury. And after missing just two games in the first six years of his NFL career, All-Pro guard Zack Martin was forced to miss a whopping six games last season due to a lingering calf injury.
But one of the biggest losses came last offseason. And it wasn’t due to injury, but sudden retirement. The Cowboys lost All-Pro center Travis Frederick, who decided to hang up his cleats five days after turning the ripe old age of 29. That after battling an autoimmune disease, Guillain–Barré syndrome, which sidelined him for the entire 2018 season.
Frederick did return to play at a Pro Bowl level the following year but opted to retire after admitting he could no longer perform at his highest level. His sudden absence didn’t exactly leave the Cowboys in a lurch as the team had already inked backup center Joe Looney to a one-year deal. And Looney started all 16 games in place of Frederick in 2018.
But the Cowboys also looked to the 2020 NFL Draft to find a potential long-term replacement for Frederick at center. To do so, Dallas traded back into the fourth round to draft Wisconsin’s Tyler Biadasz, the winner of the Rimington Trophy that’s awarded to the nation’s top college center.
Looney started the season at center for the Cowboys until suffering a sprained MCL in Week Four. Biadasz took over the starting role for four weeks before landing on Injured Reserve himself after suffering a hamstring injury and played only one single offensive snap afterward.
Looney is currently an unrestricted free agent, which makes Biadasz the favorite to be the starting center for America’s Team when the regular season kicks off. And Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski recently tabbed the 23-year old as the Cowboys most likely breakout player in 2021. Here’s Sobleski’s explanation as to why …
"“The Cowboys grew accustomed to dominating at the point of attack with five-time Pro Bowler Travis Frederick leading the way for six seasons before he retired in 2020. Biadasz, a fellow Wisconsin product, has the potential to anchor Dallas’ front for the next decade … as long as the snapper establishes himself in Year 2, the unit can once again be counted among the league’s best.”"
Do the Dallas Cowboys need linebacker K.J. Wright?. light. Must Read
While there’s a chance the Dallas Cowboys could re-sign Joe Looney this offseason, Tyler Biadasz has the higher ceiling and should ascend to starter status in his second season. And based on his play as a rookie, the Cowboys appear to have found their long-term replacement for Travis Frederick in the former fourth-rounder.