Cowboys Nation was taken by surprise a few weeks ago, when All Pro caliber center Travis Frederick decided to call it a career. While they’ve invested a large amount of resources into their offensive line over the last decade, a Frederick-sized hole at center is a big one to fill.

With the free agency rush just about over, the Cowboys could be looking towards the draft to find a plug-and-play replacement for Frederick this season. If they’re going to find a center better than their current options, though (namely Joe Looney and Connor McGovern), you’ll likely have to draft him during the first two rounds.

Peter King of NBC Sports is reporting that the Cowboys “love” Michigan’s Cesar Ruiz, though they believe 17 is too high to draft him.

“They love the Michigan center (Cesar Ruiz), and they could trade down a few spots and still be sure of getting him.”

Ruiz is the best center in this draft class, but that’s not enough to warrant using a first round pick on him. The Cowboys have real holes at defensive end and in their secondary, holes which need to be filled early on in this draft class if they’re going to help the 2020 roster.

Now, trading down and gaining more picks would obviously let the Cowboys acquire more players at different positions (duh), so this would be an excellent strategy if Ruiz really is their “guy” in round one.

Remember – the way the Cowboys drafted their future Pro Bowl center Travis Frederick was by trading down and shocking the world during the first round of the NFL Draft.