2025 is a big year for Matt Waletzko.
Unlike most of the Cowboys’ 2022 draft class, offensive tackle Matt Waletzko isn’t going into 2025 with a great sense of security. But at least there’s a solid opportunity at his position, giving Waletzko a puncher’s chance at continuing his NFL dream in Dallas.
The class of 2022 has already yielded two of the Cowboys’ youngest stars in G Tyler Smith and CB DaRon Bland, plus another Pro Bowler in TE Jake Ferguson. It also gave us WR Jalen Tolbert, a potential starter this season, and two likely role players in DE Sam Williams and LB Damone Clark. Only the last two picks of that draft, DT John Ridgeway and LB Devin Harper, are off the roster.
Currently, Waletzko’s stock is the lowest of the remaining bunch. He’s had a hard time staying healthy, missing his rookie year including most of training camp with a shoulder injury. It was again a shoulder that took him out in 2023, and he missed all but the last few weeks of the season. After three years, Waletzko has only been active for 11 games and has yet to start one.
We’ve all heard the line about the importance of availability, and that’s certainly been a problem for this fourth-year prospect so far. But even without the career momentum of his draftmates, Waletzko still warrants some intrigue in 2025.
Even when he was drafted, Waletzko was considered a raw prospect with great athletic gifts but a heavy need for development. He’s a 6’8” specimen who’s missed out on the very things he needed most to make it in the league: practice and playing time. As long as he makes it to this year’s camp, perhaps whatever experience and coaching he’s had so far will give Waletzko a chance to start putting things together. And, of course, finally having better luck with injuries.
It’s not like the Cowboys don’t need him. While Tyler Guyton and Terence Steele should be starting again this season, they come with their own question marks. Guyton struggled mightily as a rookie and Steele has never gotten all the way back to his 2021-2022 form, though there were encouraging signs late last year. The hope is that new offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, an offensive line guy, and new OL coach Conor Riley will help them get back on track. If so, they could also have a positive impact on Waletzko.
Veteran Chuma Edoga has left in free agency, leaving Asim Richards as the leading in-house candidate for the swing tackle job. But Richards has always been considered better suited for the interior line, while Waletzko is a prototypical tackle prospect. If Waletzko can finally play the part as well as he looks it, he could rise in that discussion.
We’re still early in the offseason, so this is not the full scope of Waletzko’s possible competition. The Cowboys could still be looking at veteran tackles in free agency, especially as we get further down the line and asking prices drop. And then there’s the draft, where Dallas is a real wild card when it comes to offensive line prospects. If a strong OT candidate is available early, even in the first round, the Cowboys could justifiably take him as immediate depth and for competition, with an eye on probably replacing Steele in 2026.
That would be the biggest blow to Matt Waletzko’s chances, and it’s not hard to fathom. But at the very least, he’s still here and will likely get one more training camp to fight for a roster spot. Injuries have delayed his development, but if things go right in this fourth year then Waletzko could become a bigger factor in the Cowboys’ roster decisions.
