IRVING, Texas – The Cowboys could've grabbed the most polarizing, high-profile quarterback in the draft. Instead, they protected the franchise quarterback Johnny Manziel would have sat behind to start his career.

Tony Romo can breathe a little easier coming off back surgery knowing the Cowboys stayed put with the No. 16 pick and continued to bolster the offensive line, selecting Notre Dame's Zack Martin.

"It means everything," Martin said. "I couldn't be happier to come down to Dallas and be a part of the great organization, this great storied organization. I'm very excited to come down there and start competing."

Martin, a 52-game starter in college, gives Dallas three first-round picks on the offensive line and adds another youthful piece to a completely revamped part of the team. A part of the team considered a weakness a few years ago is now rebuilt with Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Martin.

Head coach Jason Garrett said the best teams in the league can control the line of scrimmage by building their infrastructure. He believes the Cowboys have done that with their recent first-round picks. 

"We had a great start with that by drafting Tyron Smith, added to that last year by drafting Travis Frederick," Garrett said. "We feel like Zack Martin's in the same mold of those kinds of guys. We just think he's a darn good football player. We evaluated him against some of the other guys all across our draft board. He consistently came up as one of the best players in this draft." [embedded_ad]

That doesn't mean the Cowboys refused to listen to offers.

Each team gets 10 minutes to make their selection in the first round, and Jones said the Cowboys spent around eight or nine minutes evaluating offers on the phone.

At first, Jones described them more as "semi-offers."  He came back to say there were technically some firm offers, but none the Cowboys were willing to bite on. Eventually, Jones and the Cowboys decided to add to their strong presence on the line with Martin. 

He's the third first-round pick the Cowboys have used on an offensive lineman in the past four years, and his ability to play both guard and tackle gives Dallas options now and in the future.He'll begin his career as a guard, according to Garrett.

For Martin to start on the interior, he'll have to beat out one of last year's starters in Mackenzy Bernadeau or Ron Leary. Garrett didn't want to declare whether Martin will begin as a right or left guard, but believes he has the instincts and intellect to play across the line.

Martin, a tackle at Notre Dame, demonstrated his ability to bump inside with ease at the Senior Bowl.

"A lot of people argue he can play all five spots on the offensive line," Garrett said. "So, initially we'll give him a chance to work inside as an offensive guard and see how he holds up there."

After last year's struggles on defense, that side of the ball's been hailed as the priority heading into the draft. But many of the Cowboys' prime targets fell off the board prior to the selection, including Pittsburgh defensive tackle Aaron Donald, UCLA pass rusher Anthony Barr and Ohio State outside linebacker Ryan Shazier.

Jones said those three defenders, along with Martin, were their top targeted players at No. 16. 

All the safeties in the draft were still on the board when the Cowboys picked, as well as the most dazzling quarterback prospect on the board. Speculation started to build as Manziel, a player many believed would be too intriguing for the Cowboys to pass on, began to fall down the board.

But Jones and the Cowboys didn't want a quarterback.

Jones said Romo, by contract and the Cowboys' commitment, will be the quarterback in Dallas for years to come.

"There's no way any quarterback comes in here and beats out Tony Romo," Jones said. "We were strong in the quarterback position, in our minds. The fact that Martin was there mitigated any consideration of a lot of things."

That doesn't mean Manziel's presence at No. 16 didn't come as a bit of a shock.

"I was surprised, yes," Jones said. "But what I was even more surprised is the fact that he was there didn't bring on a bonanza of offers that would have given us, maybe, more options. I was also surprised, frankly, that we had the option to take Martin."

As the draft shifts to Day 2 and the second and third rounds, the biggest needs remain on defense. Jones wouldn't eliminate the possibility of another offensive pick, but after finishing last in the league on defense, he admitted the team needs a defensive player more than an offensive player.

Garrett's also aware of the needs, but he's glad the Cowboys were able to snag Martin.

"You want to address your needs, but you want to address your needs with the best players available," Garrett said. "We felt like we did that today."