Irish in the NFL: Notre Dame football alumnus Zack Martin comes in at No. 40 in PFF Top 50

Pro Football Focus named former Notre Dame football player and current Dallas Cowboys guard Zack Martin as one of the Top 50 players in the NFL heading into 2019.

As they do every year, the experts over at Pro Football Focus — one of the most respected football sites on the planet — have begun the process of revealing their Top 50 NFL players — the “PFF50” — heading into the new season. At least one former Notre Dame football player has made the list.

On Monday, PFF released players No. 50 through No. 31. Former Notre Dame guard Zack Martin — currently a member of the Dallas Cowboys — came in at No. 40.

The site acknowledges a dropoff in Martin’s run-blocking performance in 2018. That is the biggest explanation for his fall from No. 21 heading into 2018 to his No. 40 spot now.

Regardless of those numbers, Pro Football Focus and basically every other knowledgeable entity that covers the NFL all agree that Martin is still among the elite offensive lineman in the NFL. He is the primary reason that the Dallas Cowboys — Zeke Elliott on the roster or not — are still considered to have one of the best rushing attacks in the league.

Not to make excuses for Martin’s dropoff, but the absense of Cowboys center Travis Frederick for all of 2018 had to have some sort of impact on the entire offensive line. Everyone’s performance — not just Martin’s — took a hit by way of picking up any slack caused by the absense of one of the league’s best centers.

Don’t be stunned if Martin and the rest of the Cowboy offensive line see an uptick in their overall analytical performance if Frederick can return to full strength in 2019.

Additionally, there’s a pretty good chance Zack Martin won’t be the last former Notre Dame Fighting Irish player mentioned in the PFF50. We’ll let you know what other Golden Domers made the list as soon as more names drop.