Cowboys guard Tyler Smith named highest-ranked interior lineman under 25 by PFF
Tyler Smith has already established himself as quite the interior lineman in the NFL.
For years it was Travis Frederick. Nowadays it is Tyler Smith.
What we are talking about is the reply to people who doubt the Dallas Cowboys and their draft process. Any time that somebody offers a lack of belief in the team’s evaluation of players it is quickly met with “everybody hated the Tyler Smith pick!” as an ace card.
Only two years into his career, this is an extremely fair way to look at Smith. He has more than delivered on the initial investment that the Cowboys made and figures to be the best offensive lineman on the team for the next decade once Zack Martin is done (hopefully newbies Tyler Guyton or Cooper Beebe can challenge him for that title).
Smith is one of “those” NFL players born after the year 2000 that makes everybody feel old. He is in fact so young that he was born over a full year after that as he just turned 23 years old this April. He is a 2001 baby.
Given his extreme youth, his immense talent is all the more impressive which is, of course, a further testament to the initial evaluation on him that the Cowboys made.
Tyler Smith was named as the highest-ranked interior lineman under the age of 25 by PFF
We are at the time of the year where the struggle to get through OTAs and to training camp is very real. Some time ago somebody determined that lists is what helps the days of May and June pass a long just a little bit more quickly.
The fine folks at PFF churned out an interesting list recently where they ranked the top players in the NFL who are all under the age of 25. This is an interesting exercise that is generally done by outlets on an annual basis as it offers a look at the younger talent in the league that has quickly established itself.
It should come as no surprise to see Tyler Smith’s name here. He is number 15 overall and the highest-ranked interior lineman.
15. OL TYLER SMITH, DALLAS COWBOYS
Although Smith has already played 2,311 snaps in the NFL, he just turned 23 years old in April. The former first-round pick played mainly at left tackle in his first season due to injuries but was featured exclusively at left guard in his second year.
Smith will likely continue to play inside, where he has a chance to become one of the best interior offensive linemen, highlighted by the fact that his 74.4 PFF overall grade in 2023 ranked 11th among guards.
It should be noted that Micah Parsons is still technically under the age of 25 but will turn 25 before the season starts (actually very soon) which was the cutoff point that PFF used. Also, CeeDee Lamb recently turned 25. That is perhaps representative of where the Cowboys are at, that their young and talented cornerstone pieces are turning old enough for legitimate financial activity to happen around them as we all know well.
Smith may be the highest-ranked interior lineman but it should be mentioned that there is only one lineman period ahead of him. Detroit Lions tackle Penei Sewell came in at number one overall.
This was an important offseason for Smith in that the Cowboys decided to keep him at guard as opposed to kicking him out to tackle full-time. He obviously played tackle his rookie year and could be very good at the position, but he can be truly elite inside so keeping him there was a big win for everybody involved.
Given his age it is fair to say that Smith will appear on this list at least one more time, but hopefully he is appearing on lists that discuss the best players in the NFL regardless of any sort of filter. He has that potential.
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