Travis Frederick gave the Dallas Cowboys something to be hopeful about in Canton, Ohio, holding his own and then some during Sunday's Hall of Fame Game.
The first-round draft pick saw time at center and right guard during the Cowboys' win over the Miami Dolphins. While Frederick gave his performance a mixed review, he has the support of one person whose opinion counts.
"Travis has done a great job," quarterback Tony Romo said, according to the Cowboys' official website. "They picked a good one there. He's going to be a guy who's going to help us a lot for a long time. I don't know whether people are talking about whether or not we reached for him and stuff like that I guess at the time, but he's (a) good football player and we got a good first-round draft pick there."
Frederick is a former college engineer whose intelligence has been cited as one of his positive attributes.
"He's still growing as a player, he's still got a lot of things to learn in the NFL, but he's a smart kid," Romo said. "He's got a good anchor, he's strong, he's tough, so I think he's got a real bright future."
The Cowboys were criticized for reaching for Frederick with the 31st overall pick, but he'll be well worth the investment if he successfully stabilizes Dallas' faulty interior line. The biggest question right now is if Frederick will boot Phil Costa out of the picture at center.
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