Dallas Cowboys: Breaking down the 2019 offensive line depth chart

The returning middle man: Travis Frederick

The Cowboys were dealt a tough blow in 2018 when they found out center Travis Frederick Guillain-Barre syndrome. He ended up missing the entire season as he fought the auto-immune disease and his absence was felt.

Frederick is finally back at practice in OTAs and he’s excited about the upcoming season. While he admits there’s rust to knock off, he feels he’s advanced mentally and sees the game differently.

"“I see the game a little bit differently than I did before,” he said via Rob Phillips of DallasCowboys.com. “A lot of times during the season you are so focused on your technique and focused on what it takes physically to get your job done, you don’t get a great chance to advance mentally. And a lot of times you do that during the offseason, you do your best to do that. But to get to see real live looks all the time and see the way defenses are disguising things and what kind of coverages they’re moving to using more normally, I think was really beneficial to me. And I’ve seen the benefits of that already in OTAs.”"

Frederick was the second of the three linemen to be taken in the first round during Jason Garrett’s tenure. His was the most controversial, however, as some draft experts felt he was a reach at No. 31 overall.

The bearded one has silenced many of those critics as he’s earned four Pro Bowl appearances and was twice selected to the First-Team All-Pro. His return this season is a reason for excitement, especially if he’s advanced his already impressive football intelligence as he feels he has.