Why the Cowboys would be foolish to panic about Tyler Guyton’s future after a shaky first year

Tyler Guyton’s season has been interesting to say the least.

It’s difficult for rookie offensive linemen to make an immediate positive impact in the NFL. While the Dallas Cowboys may have gotten used to the opposite with Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, and Tyler Smith all starting out so hot, this is far from the norm.

It takes most linemen, especially offensive tackles, time to adjust to playing at the highest level. Cowboys’ 2024 first-round pick Tyler Guyton has learned that the hard way so far this season.

When Dallas drafted the rookie offensive tackle in April, they knew he was a fairly raw prospect. Guyton is a tremendous athlete, but questions remained about his technique and ability to transition from right to left tackle. Ten games into his rookie year, we’ve seen both things ring true.

Guyton has flashed his immense potential but also struggled with consistency and playing clean. The 22-year-old has been flagged 16 times, the second-most in all of football, and has allowed 23 total pressures and five sacks.

Most of Guyton’s big-time issues came early in the season. In Dallas’ first six games, the rookie surrendered four of his five allowed sacks and 17 of his pressure. Since then, Guyton has looked more comfortable, reflected by his 67.8 pass-blocking grade over his past three full games, via Pro Football Focus. The penalties have still been an issue, but overall the young tackle has looked more at home.

Despite his uptick in performance over the past four games, Guyton’s slow start has caused some negative perceptions. In a recent article from Bleacher Report, Guyton tied for the second-worst grade among all 2024 first-round picks. Here’s what they had to say about the young left tackle.

Dallas Cowboys: OT Tyler Guyton, D

Tyler Guyton had big shoes to fill with Tyron Smith leaving the Dallas Cowboys after 13 seasons with the franchise, five All-Pro selections and being named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade team. However, an understanding existed that the No. 29 pick wasn’t going to be Smith on Day 1, especially since he was making a transition from right to left tackle. The move isn’t as easy as Smith made it look all those years ago. Unsurprisingly, Guyton has struggled at points. His 16 total penalties are second-worst among all players around the league. He’s surrendered multiple sacks and significant pressure. The 23-year-old has the physical tools and athleticism to eventually excel, but the process takes time.

Unfortunately for both Guyton and the Cowboys, the 22-year-old went down with a high ankle sprain in Dallas’ win over the Giants on Thanksgiving Day. With just six games remaining in the regular season, there’s a chance we may not see Guyton play more than one or two games the rest of this year.

Even if he does not play another game this season, the Cowboys would be foolish to panic about his long-term outlook after an up-and-down rookie year. Positive progress and traits are what matter most in a young offensive lineman. Guyton has made some positive progressions in the second half of the season, and is still a phenomenal athlete, constantly learning to use his athletic ability to his advantage at the highest level.

The penalties are a problem there’s no denying that, but it’s not uncommon for young tackles, particularly ones flipping from right to left, to deal with this issue early on in their career.

Guyton is only going to get better as he gets more NFL snaps under his belt. The first-round pick still has a good chance to be Dallas’ All-Pro left tackle of the future. It might just take a little longer than some of their previous first-round picks.