Inside The Star
If there’s one thing we know about the Brian Schottenheimer era, it’s his commitment to building in the trenches; after all, his first draft class is being headlined by an offensive lineman. Ironically, that very selection could make Tyler Guyton the weak link of the group.
The 29th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Guyton, a former Oklahoma Sooner, experienced both highs and lows in his rookie season, though the lows were unfortunately more common.
Pressures allowed (per PFF) the last 2 weeks:
Tyler Guyton: 6
Tyler Smith: 5
Cooper Beebe: 4
Zack Martin: 4
Terence Steele: 6— Tom Downey (@WhatGoingDowney) November 6, 2024
He allowed far too many pressures and penalties, and his run blocking failed to deliver throughout most of the season.
With Alabama’s Tyler Booker joining the offensive line corps and Terence Steele showing signs of major improvement, we have to ask if Guyton is falling behind the pack just one year into his NFL career.
If anybody expected Tyler Guyton to come out of the gate firing, you just didn’t know his makeup as a prospect.
He was still around at pick 29 for a reason in 2024: he was, and perhaps still is, very raw. Guyton had just six years of experience playing offensive line when Dallas drafted him, including just 29 games of college ball.
When you mix that level of inexperience with one of the hardest positions to play in the hardest league, you’re going to get some rough early results.
Fans often cite Tyler Smith’s rookie season emergence, as he was deemed raw coming out of the draft, but there is no doubt that he was more prepared than Guyton as a rookie.
Trade back makes it feel a lot better, but Tyler Guyton is RAW. Not sure he’ll be ready to make much of an impact in year one, but think he is the long-term answer at LT or RT if the Steele stuff doesn’t improve quickly.
— Connor Livesay (@ConnorNFLDraft) April 26, 2024
The Cowboys drafted Guyton with the expectation that it would take some molding before he got to an elite level.
Additionally, last year’s offensive line coach, Mike Solari, is now out of the building in exchange for former Kansas State o-line coach Conor Riley. That is a major, but underrated, change from a coach who struggled in Dallas to a very highly touted one.
In short, the case for Guyton is simple: we knew he needed time coming in, and as it turns out, he did. This year could still be a major leap forward if he works hard.
The Cowboys’ 2024 season was essentially a waste when Dak Prescott went down in October, but Tyler Guyton had been a major hindrance on the offense even before that injury. He was costing them drives....
