Tyler Booker’s leadership began at a very early stage in his football career

Tyler Booker showed leadership qualities well before he ever got to Tuscaloosa.

When the dust settled on the 2025 NFL Draft for the Dallas Cowboys it was very obvious that they were focused on one particular thing, beyond football talent of course.

Everywhere you look from the players who the Cowboys selected there is some level of leadership. Team captains decorate the draft class and it is apparent that new head coach Brian Schottenheimer wants a new band of leaders as he takes step one into what he hopes is a long career leading this team.

Beyond the fact that this makes general sense, it also carries an extra bit of logic when we consider what has happened to the Cowboys as of late. Gone are longstanding players like Zack Martin, DeMarcus Lawrence, and as of last year, Tyron Smith. Turnover has been happening for a while. It is time for a new nucleus to lead the team into the great beyond.

In hindsight this should have been more obvious in something the Cowboys would be looking for. A moment that stood out during the team’s pre-draft press conference was when David Moore asked Brian Schottenheimer if there would be any symbolism related to the first pick given that it would be the first under Schottenheimer’s watch. Schottenheimer deflected any sort of idea, but I don’t know how you can’t read into that on some level.

Tyler Booker embodies all of these would-be ideas and evidenced a level of trust and leadership at college football’s mecca in the University of Alabama. The thing about Booker is that he has been playing under the metaphorical lights long before his days in Tuscaloosa as he finished high school action at the famous IMG Academy.

Recently I was able to speak with IMG’s Director of Football, Kyle Brey, to learn about what Booker was like before his career took off in an exponential way. You can watch the entire conversation below.

One of the things Brey said that stood out was about how Booker rallied his teammates during the days of the COVID pandemic. That was a trying time in ways that far supersede the game of football, but it obviously made the game a difficult one to navigate.

Brey talked about how having Booker on their team was like having another coach on the field. He noted that it was apparent early on that he was a remarkable leader and someone who had a special ability to get players to rally around him.

When the Cowboys were putting out word before the draft that they wanted new leadership in the offensive line room there many wondered how this could be given that Tyler Smith, Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe are all young players in their own right.

Obviously there are different types of leadership and it seems very obvious that injecting Booker into the room and culture is going to provide tremendous value. It also happens that Booker is going to be an incredible asset on the field as well. That is the perfect overall combination.