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There are general managers and there are owners. And then there is Jerry Jones, who mans both titles for the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas, who started Thursday night with the 18th overall pick, traded back 13 spots with the San Franciso 49ers, so that the Niners could grab LSU safety Eric Reid. The Cowboys would select Wisconsin center/guard, Travis Frederick, with the 31st overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.
The pick itself has been questioned since it was made. Mike Mayock immediately remarked that Frederick was a 3rd round pick on his board, during NFL Network's coverage of the draft. Dallas media has seemingly gone from confused to annoyed with the choice. Heck, even Frederick was surprised he was a 1st round. He thought he was a second day guy.
However, the most bizarre but probably most telling thing about how the pick should be viewed, is the reaction that one member of the Cowboys staff had:
Talked to a guy on #Cowboys staff who knows what he's talking about re: draft. He was baffled beyond belief, to put it lightly.
— Armen Williams (@ArmenWilliams) April 26, 2013
Dallas Morning News even mentioned that the body language in the Cowboys draft room was pretty tempered. It also noted that Frederick had one of the worst workouts in NFL Combine history. Oh, and then there is this:
Text from one AFC personnel man when I told him the Cowboys took Frederick: "Yuck".
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 26, 2013
Clearly, the Cowboys are not getting rave reviews and to make matters worse, you have to consider their trade back value as well. The Cowboys received the 31st overall pick and the 74th overall pick for the 18th overall pick. Just two spots before the Cowboys selected Frederick, at 29, the Patriots traded their pick to the Vikings for the 52nd, 83rd, 102nd, and 229th selections in the draft.
So if you are not a fan of the Eagles pick of Lane Johnson, take pride in the fact that your owner and general manager are not the same person.