Dallas Cowboys Tyler Smith was always the plan, just a poorly executed plan

It wasn’t surprising that Dallas Cowboys starting left tackle, Tyron Smith, fell to a significant injury this summer. The former All-Pro has been about as reliable as a Soviet-era dishwasher in recent years. Tyron’s only played in 13 of the last 33 games, and he was hampered by injury at every single stage of the offseason/preseason process. This was all somewhat expected.

Tyron’s ambiguous status was a big reason the Cowboys acted the way they did in the 2022 NFL Draft. Dallas targeted the LT position from the jump. They knew they needed to get a premium replacement for Smith sooner rather than later. If Tyron Smith could somehow play another year at left tackle, Dallas could use said replacement elsewhere on the line to bide time.

And that’s how things started.

The Dallas Cowboys always had Tyler Smith as their emergency replacement option at left tackle, they just did a lousy job preparing him.

When Tyler Smith was drafted, the Dallas Cowboys publicly stated their intentions were to make him their long-term answer at LT. They also went out of their way to say he will be playing on the left side this year, clearly indicating they were noncommittal whether it would be LT of LG.

In camp the Cowboys decided the rookie “LT of the future” will focus on LG specifically, abandoning the LT reps they once claimed were important. He worked the second team behind Connor McGovern and remained there until Tyron Smith inevitably succumbed to injury.

Tyler Smith was always the “pull in case of emergency” option if Tyron Smith was lost to an extended period of time

What made them confident in Josh Ball or Matt Waletzko as reserve OTs is anyone’s guess. Waletzko missed most of camp with a shoulder injury that will eventually require surgery to repair after the season. Ball was a lumbering giant who had trouble against reserve players in practice, let alone NFL starting quality ends.

While Tyler Smith was always the “pull in case of emergency” option if Tyron Smith was lost to an extended period of time, they didn’t do a good job preparing for that option. Recovering from a high ankle sprain, Tyler Smith isn’t exactly hitting the ground running in his new post as left side bookend.

The Dallas Cowboys did themselves a disservice in more ways than one this offseason/preseason. They didn’t bring in a veteran OT to insulate themselves from the inevitable Tyron Smith injury. In fact, they willfully got worse, cutting La’el Collins and not doing anything to replace him.

Need forced them to pick an OT in the draft (something they admitted to). And need forced them to consider using their draft pick at multiple positions throughout offseason camps. But instead of sticking to the plan, the Cowboys pivoted inside, focusing Tyler Smith inside at guard and doing little to insure themselves against anther Tyron injury.

The Dallas Cowboys had the plan in place all along, they just botched the execution. Instead of giving their rookie consistent snaps at LT (should the worst case happen), they rolled the dice and focused on guard.

Now they have to pay for their transgressions.

We shouldn’t be surprised by the news Tyler Smith is going to be the LT this year. It was always the plan. We also should feel comfortable it wasn’t a decision made on the fly. But Smith is extremely raw (his tape at Tulsa is unsettling from a fundamentals standpoint) and didn’t get nearly enough reps in camp. Buckle up Cowboys Nation.