Cowboys draft grade: OL in the 1st round for 3rd time in 4 years with Alabama’s Tyler Booker

The Dallas Cowboys have their latest addition to the offensive line with Tyler Booker!

The first draft pick of the Brian Schottenheimer era has been made for the Dallas Cowboys, and it feels awfully similar to a lot of recent first-round picks made by the organization – both during the time Schottenheimer was here as an assistant, and before. For the third time in four years and second in a row, the Cowboys have targeted the offensive line with their first selection. Alabama guard Tyler Booker is the latest addition to a group featuring first-round picks elsewhere at left tackle with Tyler Guyton and left guard with Tyler Smith (it’s a Tyler party!).

This is also the second year in a row the Cowboys have drafted an offensive lineman directly after losing an all-world player previously in the offseason. Guyton was last year’s answer for life after Tyron Smith, and now Booker may be asked to do the same in potentially filling the shoes of Zack Martin.

As for Schottenheimer having his fingerprints on this pick, the Cowboys selected Tyler Smith in his first year as an offensive assistant. He was offensive coordinator when Guyton was drafted in 2024. Now, the head coach who has used every moment since his introductory press conference to talk about his desire to run the ball has yet another blue-chip player to help Dallas get back to winning in the trenches. Schottenheimer’s obsession with the run game may remind some longtime NFL fans of his father’s “Marty ball” style of play, but more locally and recent, Cowboys fans of the Jason Garrett era. A defining characteristic of the rebuild Garrett led the Cowboys through was drafting the likes of Tyron Smith and Zack Martin as well as Travis Frederick, so it is interesting to see the Schottenheimer era start in a similar way – jumpstarted by the other recent investments the Cowboys have already made to their OL.

These investments include coaches as well, where offensive coordinator Klayton Adams is expected to have a heavy influence on the coaching of the offensive line. Tyler Booker’s top trait may not be his ability to pull in space and get to second level defenders, something Adams covets, but he is more than a technically sound enough guard to justify being the 12th overall pick. Connor Riley is the Cowboys’ new OL coach, coming over from Kansas State where he previously coached last year’s third-round pick Cooper Beebe. The arrow is pointing up for Beebe going into year two as the Cowboys starting center because of this and the valuable starting experience he gained as a rookie, and with this, the arrow is up as a whole for the interior of the Cowboys offensive line. Smith has somewhat quietly become one of the best left guards in the game.

The Grade: A

On his initial phone call with the Cowboys coaching staff, released by the team site DallasCowboys.com, Klayton Adams told Booker “let’s go move the line of scrimmage!” The Cowboys have stayed within their comfort zone of drafting to achieve this on the offensive line, which is never a bad place to start for a team in transition.

One thing fans have been looking for signs of early in the Schottenheimer era is the cohesion he seemingly built in his initial coaching staff to show through in the player acquisition phases. For the Cowboys to mimic the premier winning franchises in the NFL right now, they need this cohesion between front office and coaches to target the players they can get the most out of. This team already has an incredible recent history with getting the most out of first-round offensive linemen, part of which Schottenheimer has already been a part of. They can be on the same page with valuing how Booker’s character and experience playing against the best of the best in the SEC trenches are positives, with culture being a huge part of what Schottenheimer plans to instill. Booker is coming to an ideal situation to thrive early on.

There were some pre-draft rumblings about the Cowboys looking for the next signs of leadership in the offensive line room amidst bringing in two new coaches to lead this young group. Booker will certainly have to earn this role as opposed to being handed it, and handle the pressure of following up Zack Martin should he start at right guard, but this is a player with stunning consistency in his ability to stay square, keep defenders at bay, and win with his technique.

The Cowboys wanting to get better along the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball was not just talk this time around. They stepped out of their comfort zone to add at defensive tackle early in free agency with Solomon Thomas, and got ahead on re-signing Osa Odighizuwa. They did the best thing they know how to do in addressing the offensive interior. These are all very encouraging signs when it comes to Dallas re-establishing trust with the fanbase and getting back to taking the football side of their operation seriously.

The Cowboys lost their chance at wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan when he went to the Carolina Panthers eighth overall. A surprise with the 10th overall pick when Colston Loveland, not Tyler Warren, became the first tight end off the board to the Chicago Bears opened the door for the Cowboys to still get a pass catcher with Warren, but for now they seem content trying to get more out of Jake Ferguson going into a contract year. Luke Schoonmaker also had some positive flashes to build off of last season, making TE a harder position to justify with one of the Cowboys only three picks in the top 100.

The way the Cowboys stuck to their board and still got a player that checks all their boxes at an obvious position of need is what makes this an A grade. For all the talk about wide receiver, the Cowboys still have CeeDee Lamb. For all the talk about cornerback, the Cowboys still have Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland. When it comes to replacing one of the greatest linemen in franchise history with Zack Martin, the Cowboys options just went from the likes of Brock Hoffman, Robert Jones, and Saahdiq Charles to a player who only allowed one sack his entire college career (38 starts over three years).

Also, by moving all of these other players on the OL depth chart down a rung, the outlook for the Cowboys to build some depth and have contingency plans up front looks a whole lot better after just one round of drafting. This is another valuable lesson the Cowboys needed to learn this offseason coming off an injury-riddled season they were horribly prepared for, and selecting Booker once again helps verify they are taking the steps to do just that.

The Cowboys needed immediate impact with this pick no matter what, and right guard slipped under the radar when it came to how Dallas could achieve this, but now the pick is a slam dunk. Booker was first team all-SEC in 2023 and ‘24.

BTB’s Mike Poland’s scouting report on Booker highlights all of the things the Cowboys have directly shown they value up front on the OL this offseason:

THE GOOD

Booker has a massive, dense build with very good play strength.

Has an excellent ability to displace defenders in the run game, using his natural power to control and manipulate at the point of attack.

Excels in creating movement at the line of scrimmage, particularly effective on inside run concepts, both as a puller and on vertical releases.

He dominates and sets the tone in the ground game with an aggressive demeanor.

Displays a strong anchor with the capability to stifle bull-rushes thanks to his weight distribution.

Has proactive hands, maintaining good positioning and leverage to absorb power from rushers.

Plenty of proof on tape that he can perform under pressure and lead by example.

The Cowboys are still looking for answers in their run game when it comes to who will actually be toting the rock, but getting back to being dominant in the trenches is just as important. Booker called into the Cowboys’ team site coverage of the draft and immediately named Larry Allen when asked his favorite past Cowboys lineman. If Dallas has anything close to their next Larry Allen, fans won’t be worrying about McMillan or Warren for much longer.

Right now, the Cowboys are slated to come back on the clock at 44th overall on day two in the second round.