Pro Football Rumors
It wasn’t long ago that the Cowboys were the go-to example for how to assemble an offensive line with talent from top-to-bottom. Time is the enemy of team builders, though, as top talent either retires, gets injured, or outplays the price a team can afford to pay. Currently, the Cowboys are hoping to get some answers over the summer as they attempt to reestablish their offensive line as a top unit in the NFL.
The biggest question mark in Dallas comes at left tackle, where the Cowboys have been hoping to see 2024 first-round tackle Tyler Guyton establish himself over the past two seasons. The Oklahoma-product was the eighth tackle taken two years ago at 29th overall. In his first two seasons, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) graded him as the 73rd best tackle out of 81 players graded at the position in 2024 and 67th of 84 last year.
To make matters worse, Guyton has struggled to stay on the field in Years 1 & 2. He opened his rookie season as the starting left tackle after Chuma Edoga got hurt in the preseason, but he experienced a couple knee and shoulder injuries that forced him to miss practice and just opened the door for Edoga to reclaim the starting role to close the season. Guyton returned to the starting lineup to start Year 2, but he only played 10 games before an ankle injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
Dallas established this offseason that Guyton would be competing with Nathan Thomas to retain the starting role. Thomas, a seventh-round pick in Guyton’s draft out of Louisiana, opened the 2025 campaign as the primary backup on the blindside. After Guyton went down, Thomas filled in and started the next three games at left tackle. Unfortunately, Thomas’ play left quite a bit to be desired as PFF ranked him 83rd out of 84 tackles last year, and the team asked second-team All-Pro left guard Tyler Smith to slide out to the left tackle spot he had manned his rookie year as an injury replacement for Tyron Smith.
The Cowboys need Guyton or Thomas not only to convincingly win the starting job but also to prove they can stay on the field as the starter and avoid the injury issues of the past two seasons. Jon Machota of The Athletic asserts that, if neither third-year lineman can achieve both objectives, Dallas will likely have to slide Smith back out to his old left tackle position. This solution would only shift the issue to the interior, though, where a guard spot would now be in question. The Cowboys have expressed their interest in keeping Smith inside, but if Guyton and Thomas can’t become reliable starters, the team may not have a choice.
