Dallas Cowboys: 3 veteran wildcards who could shift the balance
By Reid Hanson
Dallas Cowboys veteran wildcard No.2: Tyron Smith
For the past decade, Tyron Smith has locked down the LT spot on the Cowboys offensive line. The former first round pick has notched a Hall of Fame career, and even at age 31, in the twilight of his career, he consistently grades out as one of the best tackles in the game.
What isn’t so consistent is Tyron’s availability.
As we discussed last week in “At what point is Tyron not worth it?” we broke down how much he costs per game and how there is a clear threshold of missed games he can’t exceed in order to justify his salary.
It’s Tyron’s availability that make him such a wildcard for Dallas. If he plays 13+ games this year, the Dallas Cowboys stand to have a pretty darn dominant offensive line. Together with Zack Martin, Terence Steele, Tyler Smith, and whoever starts at center, Dallas should be solid up front.
But if Tyron misses significant time again, the trickle-down effect could be disastrous for the Cowboys. Someone extremely unproven will have to take over at LT. This will limit Dak Prescott’s time in the pocket and stunt Kellen Moore’s ability to call plays downfield.
Welcome to the show, Tyler Smith.
— David Helman (@davidhelman_) June 2, 2022
Tyron Smith is back to practice this week. Even still, the Cowboys rotated their rookie OL into the starting lineup at left tackle today. They also played him at 2nd team LG, next to Tyron at LT.
If none of the LT depth pans out, Tyler Smith would be forced to slide over, opening a hole at LG and complicating things on the interior. This impacts the running game and pass attack alike and would fundamentally change the Cowboys’ identity.