frisco — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones clearly had two goals in mind Thursday night.
First and foremost, Jones wanted to trade down from No. 24 in the first round because he wanted to acquire an additional draft pick.
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Second, and just as importantly, they needed to draft an offensive lineman (preferably a tackle) to compensate for the loss of future Hall of Famer Tyron Smith, who signed with the New York Jets this spring.
Jones achieved both through a trade with the Detroit Lions and the selection of Oklahoma tackle Tyler Guyton with the 29th pick in the first round. The Cowboys will also acquire the Detroit Lions' third-round pick (No. 73) on Friday night.
At 6-foot-7, 322 pounds and with 34-inch arms, Guyton has the traits NFL teams look for in a left tackle. But what Guyton lacks is experience.
In fact, Guyton battled injury issues as a teenager and was a basketball player before he first started playing football in his senior year at Manor High School outside Austin.
TCU head coach Gary Patterson saw potential in the bullish Guyton and offered him a scholarship in 2020. However, Guyton was unable to crack the starting lineup with the Horned Frogs and was transferred to Oklahoma. In 2022, Guyton appeared in 10 games for the Sooners, starting five of them. He then started nine games at right tackle in 2023 before declaring for the draft. That means his career offensive snaps total just over 1,000, which is roughly equivalent to his 1 season in the NFL.
The Cowboys are confident Guyton will have no problem moving to left tackle. At OU, he played right tackle and served as a blindside protector for left-handed Sooners QB Dillon Gabriel.
Oklahoma offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh said Guyton is one of the most talented line prospects he's ever coached. And his coaching resume boasts 12 NFL Draft picks, including two first-round picks, in his 10 years in Norman.
With the departure of eight-time Pro Bowler Tyron Smith, Guyton has been given a larger role at left tackle. He won't be given the starting job, but Jerry Jones didn't draft him to see him sit on the bench.
Fair or not, Guyton's career will be compared to players the Cowboys could have drafted but didn't select Thursday night.
- Jordan Morgan, Seal, Arizona State – Drafted 25th overall by Green Bay.
- Graham Burton, C, Duke – Drafted 26th overall by Tampa Bay.
- Darius Robinson, Delaware State, Missouri State – No. 27 pick from Arizona State
With the acquisition of Buffalo's third-round pick, the Cowboys will have three picks in the second round (No. 56), third round (No. 73) and third round (No. 87) on Friday night. is what happened.
Perhaps the second round pick that has the Cowboys' attention is Texas running back Jonathan Brooks. Jones praised Brooks in Thursday night's post-draft press conference, saying Brooks' interview was the most memorable for Jones in 30 years.
That is, until Cowboys Vice President of Player Personnel Will McRae humorously ended the session by reminding Jones, “He's still one of the many players available in this draft!” That was it.
