A shaky rookie season raises a lot of questions about Tyler Guyton being the Cowboys left tackle
The Cowboys did not get a ton of production from their first-round pick last year.
The Dallas Cowboys are really good at finding top-end offensive line talent in the first round of the draft. For the last decade and a half, it’s sorta been their jam. Look for yourself...
- 2011: Tyron Smith = All-Pro
- 2013: Travis Frederick = All-Pro
- 2014: Zack Martin = All-Pro
- 2022: Tyler Smith = All-Pro
So, naturally, when the Cowboys selected Oklahoma right tackle Tyler Guyton, expectations were high. And why wouldn’t they be? The scouting department’s track record speaks for itself. Whatever the Cowboy's player personnel department is doing when evaluating the top collegiate offensive line prospect, it’s working.
It’s possible their luck may have finally run out. Granted, it’s early, and it would be presumptuous to draw any conclusions right now, but suffice it to say, Guyton is not off to a great start. The Cowboys threw him right into the fire and things have been a bit messy throughout the season. For starters, he’s been injured a lot this season, missing a couple of games, and having early exits in a few others. This certainly hasn’t helped his progress.
But even when healthy, he’s had a rough go. His footwork is sloppy, his hand placement is erratic, and he’s not making good decisions. All of that has led to his inability to hold blocks and has allowed a lot of pressure from the left side.
And when he’s not whiffing on blocks, he’s drawing flags. Whether it’s leaving early, lining up in the wrong spot, or just grabbing the defender, he’s piling up the laundry. He’s even been flagged for an illegal block above the waist, which honestly, I’m not even sure how you do that. Guyton is one of the most penalized players in the league committing a total of 14 infractions for the season.
Things have become so shaky for Guyton that the coaching staff worked him into a rotation during the final stretch of the season, first with Chuma Edoga and then Asim Richards. This constant in-and-out is how the coaches have chosen to get him reps without compromising too much of their offensive line effectiveness. Every time he’s given new chances, he always finds a way to work himself into trouble, repeatedly getting the hook.
While this season hasn’t gone nearly as well as past seasons with other rookie offensive linemen, Guyton still has time to develop. But it does raise questions about the state of the offensive line and what their needs are going into next season. The growth of other guys like Brock Hoffman and T.J. Bass does provide them with better interior line depth which creates extra flexibility with Tyler Smith. The team has used Smith in a “break glass in case of emergency” situation before to fill in at left tackle, but their preference is to keep him at left guard. Having a reliable left tackle is crucial.
What this ultimately means is that an offensive lineman is not off the table for the Cowboys in the earlier rounds of April’s draft. It is more desirable to address other positions and not continue to use premium draft resources on more offensive linemen, but if the right player falls to the right spot, it should be considered. Additionally, there will be a lot of talk about moving Guyton back to right tackle should the team make Terence Steele a cap casualty, but things may not go down that way as Steele has shown some nice improvement the further he gets from his knee injury.
Time will tell how this things play out. Hopefully, Guyton will improve and will still be Plan A to protect Dak Prescott’s blindside, but after a rocky rookie season, the team needs to be open to all possibilities.
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