Meet the Dallas Cowboys Cinco de macho: 5 toughest new guys
By Reid Hanson
The Dallas Cowboys saw something in their team they didn’t like last season. Something that needed to change before they could move on to another campaign. Something the 49ers had spades when they eliminated the Cowboys in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
Macho.
Stemming from the word, “machismo”, macho signifies masculinity. Defined by the Oxford dictionary, it’s “showing aggressive pride in one’s masculinity.”
A quality looked down on in most civilized levels of society, macho is actually a celebrated trait in professional sports (and prison). It can manifest in a number of ways on the field: nastiness, toughness, relentlessness, etc…
The Dallas Cowboys noticed macho was missing from their team last year. They weren’t a cupcake team or anything, but they lacked the true “bullies” that often set other teams apart from them. Well, they actively addressed those concerns in the 2022 NFL Draft…
Today we celebrate the Dallas Cowboys five new tough guys in this special Cinco de Macho list
Let’s start with the Dallas Cowboys top pick, Tyler Smith.
Tyler Smith, OL
What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the name “Tyler Smith?”
Nasty? Mauler? Tough guy?
Chances are one of those words comes to mind fairly quickly. While it can be a red flag when that is the first and foremost descriptor for a first round pick, it signifies the Dallas Cowboys focus and degree of importance they place in upgrading their level of macho.
Tyler Smith plays like a bully and that’s a big change from the finesse play of the man he’s expected to replace at LG (Connor Williams). He should have an immediate and positive influence on the Cowboys o-line this season, and while his play won’t be mistake-free (he gets flagged a lot and will need technical development) it adds an intangible that’s been missing for too long.