2014 NFL mock draft: Zack Martin to Dallas Cowboys at No. 16

Under the watchful eye of Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys have not often been known to make meat-and-potatoes selections in the first round of the NFL Draft, forgoing flash in the process. When they have done so in recent seasons, they have yielded players like Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick -- two pieces of a young and improving offensive line.

The editorial staff at Blogging the Boys mulled over this pick for a bit after their time on the clock had expired, but as Dave Halprin explains below, they're thinking that the Cowboys would be wise to make a third such investment in Round 1 this year.

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"Nightmare scenario for Dallas with Anthony Barr, Aaron Donald and the two safeties off the board. Ideally the team would trade down, but stuck at No. 16, the BTB front-page writing staff voted 4-to-3 to take Martin over Timmy Jernigan. Martin will help the Cowboys complete the overhaul of their offensive line. Martin could battle Doug Free for the right tackle spot, or kick inside to guard where many experts predict he’ll end up. With Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Martin in the fold, a young Cowboys line is shaping up nicely. The Cowboys feel confident they can get defensive line help in subsequent rounds with the depth of this draft."

Dan Kadar, our informed NFL Draft analyst, has some thoughts and opinions to share on the Cowboys' mock draft pick of Martin:

We should start keeping track of "nightmare scenarios" in this mock draft, because several teams have had them. Regardless, there are a lot of ways the Cowboys could go with this pick. If defense isn't the choice, the team would be banking on Nick Hayden having a turnaround season and Henry Melton being healthy. If the choice is Martin, it should be to be the team's right tackle. If he's brought in as a guard, there's a better one available in UCLA's Xavier Su'a-Filo.

That's a wrap for today. Coming up tomorrow: picks from the Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. Until then, comrades.

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