The offseason departure of franchise legend, Tyron Smith, opened up a massive need at left tackle in Dallas. Once the draft rolled around, the front office’s top priority was filling that need, and they tapped former Oklahoma Sooner, Tyler Guyton to do it.
This move was met with some fan criticism, and admittedly, some of my own. Concerns about how NFL-ready Guyton was spread like wildfire.
Once we got to see him in action, however, those fears were eased pretty quickly. Guyton has had a fantastic training camp and preseason, and his work ethic has been evident from the moment he became a Cowboy.
You can’t teach this level of effort to finish a defender. You either have it or you don’t.
Tyler Guyton has it. Love to see it— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) August 18, 2024
It all smells a little bit like the Tyler Smith situation. Fan outrage over a pick, “he is too raw,” and then a stellar rookie season that elevated his name to the top ranks in the NFL.
Can Guyton achieve similar success in his rookie year, or has the hype over his preseason performance gotten out of hand? Let’s talk about the highs, lows, and bottom line of this Texas natives’ upcoming season.
Tyler Guyton: The Rookie Season Ceiling
Like I said, the hype around Guyton has been swelling for weeks now, and when you turned on a Cowboys‘ preseason game, it was easy to see why. The guy was an absolute force on the offensive line, and that got fans fired up.
Based on preseason performance, Guyton was one of the best offensive lineman in the entire league.
#Cowboys LT Tyler Guyton finished the preseason as the highest-graded rookie offensive tackle by @PFF:https://t.co/2w0QApOCcy pic.twitter.com/oOhV0KWFbo
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) August 28, 2024
All the traits from the Oklahoma days popped up, like athleticism, strength, and freak size, but man did we see a turnaround in what were the college negatives for him. He was much more polished and made fewer mistakes across the board.
It was an impressive showing, and it wasn’t too surprising given just how hard Tyler Guyton has been grinding since being drafted.
His work ethic is unmatched, and when we project that and his preseason performance to this rookie season, it is hard not to dream of a rookie-season Pro Bowl ceiling.
After all, there is no staff in the league that develops young, raw offensive linemen better than Dallas, and it seems their magic has already started working on Guyton. If things continue this way, there is no telling how strong his 2024 campaign might be.
Tyler Guyton: Risk Of College Performance
Now, for all the excitement, it is still important to maintain some realistic expectations of Guyton. As somebody that watched a hefty amount of his college tape, there were and still are some real concerns about his current preparedness at the NFL level.
He exhibited some major technical flaws, running game problems, and had very little on-field experience.
The reason Guyton was drafted where he was is because of the flashes on tape and projection, not the overall picture of his ability during college, that was not there yet.
What concerns me about him is the jump from an inexperienced, raw college tackle, to a starting left tackle in the NFL that is protecting the blindside of Dak Prescott against elite pass rushers. That is a mountain-sized leap from where he was a year ago.
Micah Parsons welcomes rookie Tyler Guyton to his starting LT role. pic.twitter.com/Itunl7x899
— David Moore (@DavidMooreDMN) August 15, 2024
Is he ready for that jump? Nobody can be 100% ready for it, but how close he gets to being fully prepared will determine the outcome of his season.
Things could still be hard on Tyler Guyton in his rookie year, and fans should not panic about that.
Tyler Guyton’s Bottom Line
Here is the bottom line for Guyton: He looks fantastic, he has all the tools to be fantastic, and he will probably get there even if he faces some rough moments in 2024.
It is fair to say that the Cowboys have a reactionary fanbase, and a “wait and see” front office and coaching staff. This could make for a bad concoction this year if Guyton has some struggles.
Fans outraged over a multiple-penalty game or two in a row, and the organization shouting back that everything is fine.
The reality there, is that the organization will be right. He will have ups and downs.
Tyler Guyton’s (#60) hand placement is still inconsistent, but you can see some real pop when he does connect. pic.twitter.com/kKVheFeGNn
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) August 18, 2024
Guyton is a special project that some of the best offensive line developers in the league have in the palm of their hands. They are not going to let his talents go to waste, and it seems that they have already made massive strides in his game.
This season likely won’t see him reach his rookie-year ceiling or floor. Rather, we’ll see some fantastic moments, and some rookie ones, and that is okay.
Tyler Guyton is going to be the Cowboys left tackle for quite some time. This is just the beginning, so let’s not get too crazy one way or the other at this point.
