When the Dallas Cowboys named Brian Schottenheimer their 11th head coach earlier this year, roster-wide changes were all but assured.
And nowhere will those changes be more apparent than on the offensive line. That’s not even taking into account the retirement of Zack Martin either.
The Cowboys drafted Tyler Booker in the first round back in April to take Martin’s spot,
However, that may not be the only change coming for this room in 2025.
Could There Be 2 New Tackles?
Neither Terence Steele nor Tyler Guyton set the NFL on fire last year.
At right tackle, Steele at times struggled in pass protection. He has yet to fully return to pre-injury form after the Cowboys rewarded him with a huge contract.
On the opposite side of Steele, Guyton’s rookie season was less than stellar.
He missed two games and did not start in four of the 15 that he did play in last year.
He also had several penalties, some in key moments. His pass protection was less than spot-on too.
In his defense, he was a right tackle in college, having never played on the left side until Dallas moved him there to replace Tyron Smith.
And there lies a clue about how the offensive line might look this fall.
Shuffling The Deck
Guyton could be moved to the right tackle spot. In fact, it might be the best thing for him to get back to his natural position.
Steele would be relegated to spot duty as a backup. Dallas has a path to get out of Steele’s contract next year to reduce their hit on the cap.
That would move Tyler Smith from left guard to left tackle. Booker could move into the left guard spot and either Brock Hoffman or Rob Jones could move into the right guard slot.
Hoffman was a beast at the end of last year after Martin went down and he has a legitimate chance to start at guard. He might even push Cooper Beebe for the starting center position too.
The other option would be to bench both Guyton and Steele, with this spring’s sixth-round pick, Ajani Cornelius, taking the right tackle spot.
It seems unlikely Dallas would abandon Guyton this quickly.
But Schottenheimer has insisted that the Cowboys will start the “best five players” on the line, regardless of where they were drafted or how much they make. If he holds to that, changes will be made.
Divisional Ranking
With that uncertainty, it’s hard to specifically pinpoint where the Cowboys offensive line ranks against the rest of the division.
For now, the Eagles appear to be the top line in the NFC East. Depending on how they come together, Dallas’ line could move past them.
But for now, they appear to be ahead of the Commanders at least.
The Giants remain a distant fourth.
