The Dallas Cowboys' first-round draft pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, Tyler Guyton, will have some big shoes to fill, replacing eight-time Pro Bowler Tyron Smith as the team's starting left tackle.
Making the jump from college to the NFL as an immediate starter is never easy, but second-year guard Tyler Smith believes Guyton has everything he needs to be successful as a rookie.
"I just tell him to be confident. I mean, his tools are outrageous," Smith said of Guyton when asked what advice he gave the rookie. "The dude's long, athletic, and has so many gifts. Right now, I'm just trying to give him the cheat codes—anything I noticed during my time playing tackle that might help him.
"Whether it's communicating something a certain way or taking a step differently, stuff like that. Just bringing him up to speed as fast as possible."
It helps that Guyton grew up a big-time Tyron Smith fan, so he knows what's expected of him.
It also helps that he is already impressing his teammates this early into the offseason.
Time for Smith to Focus on Setting the Young Guys Up for Success
As for [Tyler] Smith, he no longer has to wonder what his role will be this fall after playing both left guard and left tackle through his first two seasons.
"I'm definitely excited knowing where I'm going to be at and what I need to improve on," Smith said. "Obviously, we have to stay ready. That's part of our mantra, five as one. If anything happens, everybody has to step up. I'm definitely excited to work at that spot and continue to get better."
With that big question mark out of the way, Smith can now focus on helping Guyton and the other young guys on the offensive line.
"It's definitely a bigger leadership role when it comes to that, and I definitely take pride in our room and how we do things," Smith said of entering his third year as an official veteran. "We always do things the right way, and that's something all of us older guys in there try to stress—do stuff the right way, do it the right way all the time, and be consistent with it. Just be consistent."
