The Dallas Cowboys have added a new offensive tackle. His name is Tyler Guyton.
It was almost obvious that Dallas would target an offensive lineman in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Even if they traded back from their original pick (gaining a third-round pick in the process). , they were still doing so in Guyton.
Guyton is a bit of a weak tackler at the moment, but if there's one place the Cowboys can give him the benefit of the doubt, it's along the offensive line. This is their arena.
Now that Guyton is on board, we have to figure out how things are going to play out. Here are three possible offensive line combinations if he were involved.
Scenario 1: Tyler Guyton lines up at left tackle.
For the Cowboys, it makes the most sense to move on to life with Tyler Guyton as their new left tackle. That would be the best case scenario at least.
It wouldn't be unheard of for Dallas to do this, as Tyler Smith played the left tackle spot as a first-round rookie two years ago. If you follow this path, you'll end up with:
- LT: Tyler Guyton
- LG: Tyler Smith
- C: Brock Hoffman
- RG: Zack Martin
- RT: Terence Steele
This is the chalkiest offensive line compared to what the Cowboys currently have on their roster. Unless the Cowboys acquire a quality prospect in the next few rounds to compete for a spot, Brock Hoffman is expected to be the starting center along with Tyler Biadasz. The opportunity is right there for Guyton to slide in and take over on the left side.
It's definitely a risk for a rookie to play left tackle, especially in such a critical year, but then again, the Cowboys did this just two years ago, so they clearly aren't afraid of that type of challenge.
Scenario 2: Tyler Guyton lines up at right tackle.
Guyton played right tackle most of the time at Oklahoma. Many draft evaluators believe he is more comfortable on the right side.
History also shows that the Cowboys are willing to play their future left tackle on the right side (shout out to the aforementioned Tyron Smith). Then you can always go down that path with Guyton. However, with Terrence Steele currently on the team, this would require either demoting him or replacing him with a left winger.
- LT: Terrence Steele or Matt Waletzko
- LG: Tyler Smith
- C: Brock Hoffman
- RG: Zack Martin
- RT: Tyler Guyton
Obviously the left tackle position looks very questionable here. Dallas will either trust the unproven Matt Waletzko or ask Terrence Steele to move to the other side of the line. It seems a bit far-fetched, but we're currently considering all options.
Scenario 3: Tyler Guyton lines up at right tackle, but Terrence Steele is still the starter.
For all the conversation, the Cowboys could also choose to have Guyton play right tackle while taking a slightly twisted approach to the rest of the line.
You may recall that last offseason, Jerry Jones toyed with the idea of playing Terrence Steele at left guard. Imagine that world.
- LT: Tyler Smith
- LG: Terence Steele
- C: Brock Hoffman
- RG: Zack Martin
- RT: Tyler Guyton
Again, in this scenario, the Cowboys could keep Guyton in his “comfortable” spot at right tackle, but the cost is significant. They will likely move both Tyler Smith and Terrence Steele to positions they didn't primarily play last year, but if Guyton is left tackle at that point, they may move Smith back inside in the future. do not have.
In the end, scenario 1 seems to make the most sense. I hope the Cowboys get there.
