If Zack Martin ends up retiring in 2025 as he's admitted to contemplating ahead of the 2024 NFL season, the top dog on the Dallas Cowboys offensive line will officially become left guard Tyler Smith, who already carries second-team All-Pro honors with him two seasons into his career.
Considering the Cowboys could potentially lose future Hall of Famers Tyron Smith and Zack Martin in back to back years, the franchise is in need of Smith stepping up as the leader of the unit, not just a good player on the field.
He's already delivering on that end based on a recent column from Dallas Morning News' Michael Gehlken.
Gehlken, who went in-depth on first-round rookie Tyler Guyton, included an awesome quote from Tyler Smith on his story, which shows the kind of teammate he is:
“I watched the rookie minicamp tape,” said Smith, who uploaded the footage on his iPad. “I was extremely impressed with his movement skills. His speed off the ball, his length. As he learns the offense and gets faster and faster, he’s going to evolve at a staggering rate. But he has a really good starting point right now. His upside is high — it’s really high. We could play together for a really, really long time.”
- M. Gehlken, Dallas Morning News
Smith, who was thrown to the wolves as a rookie when asked to play left tackle weeks before the start of the 2023 regular season, knows a thing or two about getting up to speed to play on of the most complicated positions in the sport. Him going out of his way and watching Guyton's rookie minicamp tape is exactly what you want to hear about somebody that should emerge as the natural leader of the group beyond 2024.
Additionally, Cowboys Nation should get excited about Smith's detailed review on Guyton. "Evolve at a staggering rate" is a big statement from the third-year lineman and he's setting the bar pretty high for the rookie he expects to play with for a "really, really long time."
Going into the 2024 season, all eyes will be on Guyton, who is a remarkable athlete perceived to be a long-term project during the draft process. The Cowboys appear unafraid to start him right away though, which means he'll have to cutdown the development process for the offense to operate at the level it was operating at last year.
It's easier said than done, but the Cowboys deserve the benefit of the doubt when it comes to developing offensive linemen.
