Tape talk: Tyler Smith, the future of the Cowboys offensive line

Despite constant league-wide turnover there always seems to be a select amount of position groups in the NFL stacked with talent. Whether it’s the Green Bay Packers having a quality quarterback, the Pittsburgh Steelers fielding a terrifying defensive line, or the Bengals boasting Pro Bowl-caliber talent at receiver, defined organizational philosophies and effort toward stacking specific areas of rosters have yielded perennial dominance for certain teams.

One of these is the Dallas Cowboys offensive line, a formidable group that ranks top five in sacks allowed (480) and sack rate (0.47) since 2010. Fielding premier talent over the years like Travis Frederick, Zack Martin, and Tyron Smith, the Cowboys have developed a reputation as the premier NFL franchise for drafting and developing offensive linemen, a trend that has continued with the emergence of guard Tyler Smith.

Now in his sophomore season, the Tulsa product has grown into one of the best guards in football, ranking second in pass-blocking efficiency rate (98.4), a metric that measures pressures allowed on a per-snap basis, and sixth in PFF run-blocking grade (79.7). And with the Cowboys’ best offensive linemen entering the twilight of their careers (both Zack Martin and Tyron Smith just turned 33), Smith is in prime position to cement himself as the crown jewel of America’s team.

On this week’s edition of Tape Talk, we’ll break down Tyler Smith’s path to becoming one of the league’s premier linemen, delving into his journey from raw tackle prospect to dominant guard, his strengths, and where he needs to improve to elevate himself into All-Pro consideration.

Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Smith played defensive line his entire life before being moved to left tackle during his junior high school season. He excelled despite his inexperience, earning All-District and All-State honors, yet was still overlooked by the major Texas programs throughout his recruitment, leading him to sign with the University of Tulsa.

After a redshirt season in 2019, Smith started 21 games for the Golden Hurricanes from 2020-2021, earning freshman All-American and First Team All-AAC honors during his redshirt freshman season, and a place on the All-AAC Second Team as a sophomore.

Smith developed a reputation as a freakish, volatile run-blocking force who dominated opposing ends with athleticism and aggression. Here’s a cutup of his run-blocking prowess at Tulsa, posted by Shrine Bowl Director of Football Operations and Player Personnel Eric Galko prior to the 2022 NFL Draft. Smith finished the 2021 season with the highest PFF run-blocking grade ever for an AAC tackle at 93.9.

Despite his clear athleticism and run-blocking ability, Smith was still seen as a developmental prospect by draft analysts and scouts alike due to his uncontrolled aggression and unrefined pass-protection technique. Smith’s belligerence proved a trademark part of his game in Tulsa, yet it also led him to commit a whopping 16 penalties during his redshirt sophomore year, including 12 holding calls.

What’s more, Smith was still incredibly inexperienced come draft time, having entered the draft as one of the youngest eligible players at 20 years old and with only four seasons of playing offensive line under his belt, two of which were at the high school level.

Furthermore, the fact that his skill set projected better as a guard (due to his run-blocking prowess and sloppy pass-pro technique), yet he never played a snap at either guard spot in college, made his fit and profile tricky to decipher for NFL teams. Altogether, it was clear that Smith had huge upside, but his success hinged on a team with exceptional coaching formulating a detailed plan for his development.

It therefore came as a surprise when the Dallas Cowboys selected him No. 24 overall in the 2022 draft, with offensive line not seen as a position of need in Dallas and the flag-happy Smith being an odd fit for a Cowboys team that led the league in penalties in 2021. Yet despite the widespread criticism, Smith rapidly became a crucial asset for the Cowboys.

With franchise left tackle Tyron Smith suffering a serious knee late in training camp, Smith was slotted as the team’s left tackle two weeks before Week 1 despite practicing at guard all offseason. For most offensive line rookies with minimal experience at the position, being thrown into the fire as the left tackle of America’s team with barely any rapport with his teammates would be a disaster, yet Smith stood up to the challenge. He played solidly in Tyron Smith’s absence and even proceeded to start at right tackle and play some left guard after the former Trojan returned from his absence in December.

With Tyron Smith staying healthy this year, Smith has been able to develop at left guard, the position the Cowboys originally envisioned him at when they drafted him. And despite it being his first real go at the position, he’s been phenomenal. With the combination of his freakish athleticism and improved technique, he’s ascended into one of the best young linemen in football.

Let’s start with his run blocking, where Smith can dominate on any type of run scheme due to his athleticism, power on contact, and physicality at the point of attack.

With short area blocks used on gap schemes like power, counter, and trap, Smith is able to win with good positioning due to his initial quickness and low pad level, and then execute and dominate the block with freakish functional strength and physicality at the point of contact.

Watch this third-quarter rep against fellow 2022 first-round draft pick Jordan Davis, for example, where he dominates a base block on a “duo” run. Smith shows exceptional foot quickness and good pad level to rapidly get under Davis’ pads and then displays elite functional strength and physical toughness at the point of attack to turn the 6-foot-6, 341-pound nose tackle ninety degrees, opening a lane for running back Rico Dowdle.

Smith can also dominate on more athletic, movement-based blocks like reaches and cutoffs used on zone runs or blocks in space where he has to climb to the second level or pull.

Take this outside zone play during the Cowboys’ Week 8 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. Smith is on the backside of a zone run, meaning his assignment is to reach the defender nearest to him and cut him off from penetrating into the backfield. Smith’s nearest defender in this instance, Kobie Turner, is aligned half a gap over, yet he displays the elite short area quickness to teleport to Turner’s midline and position the block, and then execute at the point of contact with good hand placement inside and the upper body and grip strength to rotate Turner’s behind to the sideline and cut him off from the play.

Smith can also thrive on movement blocks in space, as seen in this second-quarter rep during the Cowboys’ Week 4 game against the New England Patriots. The Cowboys are running a “dart” run with right tackle Terence Steel pulling across the formation to kick out the defensive end and create a free lane for running back Tony Pollard. Smith and the rest of the line are tasked with down-blocking the rest of the defensive line to create a wall for Steele to pull parallel to and for Pollard to weave through. With nobody occupying his gap, Smith helps out his center by nudging the nose tackle and then shows very good change of direction and short area quickness to bolt toward the second level, engaging his nearest linebacker with good positioning and very good power on contact to help generate a 16-yard Pollard rush.

Smith has excelled as a run blocker, yet he’s also held his own against the very best in pass protection, showing the ability to win against power rushes while also neutralizing more advanced pass rush combinations.

Watch this fourth-quarter rep against Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate Jalen Carter during the Cowboy’s Week 13 matchup against the Eagles, for example, where Smith halts the former Georgia Bulldog’s bull rush. Carter gets off the line quickly and tries to generate power with his freakish functional strength, yet Smith matches the physicality. He shows good hand placement inside and elite grip strength to assert control under Carter’s pads, and then the flexibility necessary to sink his weight and anchor to prevent pressure.

Smith can win against straight power, yet he’s also shown the ability to neutralize more advanced pass rush moves like conversions or counters. Watch this rep versus future Hall-of-Fame defensive tackle Aaron Donald during the Cowboys’ Week 8 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, for example, where he smoothly neutralizes Donald’s power to speed move inside.

Donald fakes a bull rush by initially attacking Smith at his midline, yet quickly tries to swat his hands and attack inside. Smith doesn’t budge. He reworks his body with very good lateral agility and quickly latches inside Donald’s pads with rapid hand placement, proceeding to wash Donald out of the play with the functional strength and physicality to finish the rep.

Smith excels against both power and other advanced pass rush combos, yet what cements him as a top-tier guard in pass protection is his ability to recover and win from losing positions. Take this rep against former Pro Bowl defensive tackle Javon Hargrave during the Cowboys’ Week 5 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. Hargrave explodes off the line and wins the hand placement battle inside, asserting control. Yet where most guards would lose the rep here, as hand placement is crucial in trench play to assert dominance over the opponent at the point of contact, Smith shows good hand usage to rework his hands inside Hargrave’s breastplate and then anchor with flexibility, sinking his weight, and exceptional core and lower body strength to stonewall Hargrave and prevent movement.

Altogether, Smith’s ability to dominate in the run game, win consistently in pass protection, and recover from disadvantageous situations make him a formidable force at guard, although he still has some quirks he must iron out to ascend to an elite level, particularly in better controlling his aggression and hand usage when facing highly agile defensive tackles.

Watch this early second-quarter rep against 49ers defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, for example. Smith shows very good initial quickness off the line, yet he’s so focused on rapidly engaging his opponent and winning with his elite grip strength that Kinlaw is able to easily swerve around him inside on the speed rush and pressure the quarterback.

Now let’s look back at the Rams game on another rep against Aaron Donald on a play-action pass. Smith is supposed to fake a reach block (similar to the cutoff rep we saw earlier in the piece), yet his aggressiveness leads to him lunging forward, missing his hand placement, allowing Donald to beat him outside and get to Dak Prescott for the sack.

Reps like these are a result of the uncontrolled aggressiveness scouts and analysts saw in college, which, for the most part, Smith has been able to clean up. But these habits still give him trouble against twitchy defensive tackles who can make him pay for his hot-and-cold positioning and hand placement. Furthermore, Smith’s hyper-aggressiveness and inconsistent discipline have hurt the Cowboys heavily in the penalty department – through eighteen weeks, he ranks first among all linemen in penalties (13), a problem we’ve seen continue from his days at Tulsa.

Overall, however, Smith has still played like one of the best guards in football this season, cementing himself as a franchise cornerstone for the Cowboys and potentially as one of the best linemen in the league for the next decade. He can execute any run scheme and hold down the league’s best interior rushers in pass protection due to his athleticism and freakish power. A

Although his aggression may get the best of him at times, making him vulnerable against agile rushers and prone to penalties, we must remember Smith is only a second-year player and probably has less offensive line experience than most college linemen. Smith was recently snubbed for the Pro Bowl, but make no mistake – he’s a rapidly ascending force who looks to be in prime position to become the premier player of the storied Cowboys offensive line for the next decade.