The Dallas Cowboys' offense under Brian Schottenheimer might look a little different in 2025 due in part to Zack Martin's retirement.
There has been talk of Cooper Beebe, who played center last season, shifting to right guard to take Martin's spot, though the team is hinting at passing on that idea.
There is also the scrappy Brock Hoffman occupying the vacant position. Or, Dallas might draft another lineman to play inside.
But one position that isn't as straightforward is right tackle with Terence Steele.
For some, Steele hasn't lived up to the five-year, $82 million deal he signed in 2023, and with a potential out in his deal in 2026, maybe the time has come to think about his successor?
Does that come in this draft class? For CBS Sports' Ryan Wilson is does with Missouri stud Armand Membou coming to Dallas in his latest mock draft.
"Armand Membou is just 6-foot-3 ... and I do not care," Wilson writes. "Membou was one of the most reliable right tackles in college football in 2024, and while he doesn't have ideal size, based on his tape alone, he's a guy who you put at right tackle until he proves he can't handle it at the next level. Worst case: you have a perennial Pro Bowl guard for the next decade."
"Perennial Pro Bowler'' might be a bit much. But ...
This is another mock that doesn't have the Cowboys taking a running back in the first round, and in truth, Dallas needs its draft picks to hit in Year 1, and Membou, while a good prospect who has outstanding potential per NFL.com's Lance Zierlein, if he is taken, we aren't sure he would usurp Steele in 2025.
Could Dallas cut Steele outright? He’s scheduled to count $18 million against the 2025 cap - that's pricy. If Steele is cut now, before free agency begins on March 12, Dallas is still stuck with $14 million in dead money while only getting back $5.1 million in cap space.
If the Cowboys make him a June-1st cut, it’s $14.5 million in cap space come June but then $6.4 million in dead cap deferred to 2026.
A move is clearly an option ... though it might leave Dallas a body short, even with the drafting of a blue-chip lineman.
Could the rookie be better that Steele right away?
He might, with Schottenheimer and his staff making it known that the "best five" will play and it won't matter the position, so if Membou does hit the ground running in Oxnard, then who knows.
It might be a left-field selection for the Cowboys, but having two young tackles on either side of Dak Prescott could be seen as both good and problematic, as we saw with Tyler Guyton last season.
Membou looms as a solid choice, but given Dallas' other needs, right tackle doesn't seem to be too high on its to-do list. ... unless somebody in this scouting department sees him a future "perennial Pro Bowler.''
