Cowboys pre-training camp rookie projection: OL Tyler Booker

How good do you expect Tyler Booker to be in his first season?

You could say that no other Dallas Cowboys player in 2025 has more pressure on them than rookie first-round pick Tyler Booker. The Cowboys spent the 12th overall pick on Booker to replace future Hall of Famer Zack Martin. Those are no easy shoes to fill. The Booker selection was criticized by some draft analysts, but there is no questioning the skillset of the former Alabama offensive lineman.

The Cowboys coaching staff wasted zero time throwing Booker into the fire, giving him a majority of the first team reps at right guard in the early portion of the teams OTA’s. Booker will be tasked with taking over the team’s starting right guard spot heading into training camp and by the looks of it, the Cowboys are ready for him to take that on.

Booker was a sensational run blocker at Alabama and impressed as a pass protector despite some of his athletic limitations. In year one, Booker will likely carry over a similar skillset, showing pro-ready ability as a run blocker, but could deal with some struggles early as a pass protector. Even with some of the limitations athletically, Booker should slide in as a quality starting right guard. Zack Martin looked like a shell of himself for most of the season in 2024, and Brock Hoffman proved to be a capable option as a fill-in starter when Martin went down with injury.

Even as a young player, Booker should be able to upgrade the Cowboys’ interior offensive line pretty quickly early on in his career. Booker’s raw power, run-blocking abilities, size, and leadership traits should immediately improve the Cowboys run game from day one. Booker is unlikely to be a Pro Bowl-caliber player in year one, but his ability to step in and improve the Cowboys run blocking, and likely improve their interior pass blocking from where it was in 2024, is a relatively safe bet given the other option currently on the roster.