Even elite NFL players, starters and award-winners at their positions- and therefore among the premier athletes on the planet- get starstruck, just like the rest of us. Sometimes it’s by guys who do the exact same job.
A perfect example played out this week at the OL Masterminds Summit held in Frisco and hosted by offensive line guru Duke Manyweather. The annual event, now in its ninth year, brings together the game’s current top offensive linemen and adds some of the best to ever do it for an intensive, hands-on clinic meant to raise the level of play across the board for guards, tackles, and centers of every team.
And everyone in attendance, it seemed, had someone else they were hoping to meet. Cowboys right tackle Terence Steele, for example, explained that he was looking forward to spending some time with the Eagles’ Lane Johnson.
For Quinn Meinerz, it was Cowboys legend Zack Martin.
Meinerz, of course, isn’t just some random fanboy. The sixth-year Broncos guard is himself a two-time first-team All-Pro, one of the 10 highest-earning guards in the league, and was a finalist for the NFL Protector of the Year award last season.
But when he learned Martin, the nine-time Pro Bowler who retired after the 2024 season, would be leading some of the content at this year’s summit, Meinerz came prepared. A video shared on social media shows Meinerz autographing one of his jerseys and presenting it to Martin in what was a very cool moment for both players.
“I wanted to give you one of my jerseys,” he tells Martin. “We never got to do a proper jersey swap.”
Martin was clearly touched by the gesture, commenting on Meinerz’s selection of the Broncos’ “Orange Crush” throwback jersey and promising to return the favor with a signed Cowboys No. 70 from his own closet.
That brotherhood and camaraderie shared by offensive linemen is unique in the NFL, and a big part of why events like the OL Masterminds Summit have become so successful.
Speaking with D Magazine’s Mike Piellucci and Mike Marshall at this year’s gathering, Martin explained how simply being around established, top-notch offensive linemen after he joined the Cowboys as a first-round draft pick in 2014 accelerated his own growth and raised the standard for the entire group.
“I tell people all the time: what we had in our room, we had a ton of competition. Inter-room competition,” Martin said on the StrongSide podcast. “When you’re in there and you’re watching Tyron Smith and Travis [Frederick] and Ron Leary and Doug [Free], all these guys, it’s like, ‘Man, I’ve got to do my job. I’ve got to pick it up a little bit; these guys are killing people.’ I think the inter-competition we had in our room really brought the best out of everyone.”
That’s what the Masterminds Summit is doing now for linemen from all 32 locker rooms.
Not to mention giving some of them, like Quinn Meinerz, a chance to meet their heroes.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys legend Zack Martin shares cool jersey swap moment with current Broncos OL star
Reporting by Todd Brock, Cowboys Wire / Cowboys Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Todd Brock, Cowboys Wire | USA TODAY Network
