A ‘neutral’ mindset helped Nate Thomas prepare him for his moment as a starter

The Cowboys former seventh-round pick sounds confident stepping in for Tyler Guyton

At the start of his media session on Wednesday, there was a light-hearted moment when Nate Thomas didn’t know where to look while answering questions. Being in the spotlight is something new for the Dallas Cowboys‘ left tackle, but it sounds like Thomas isn’t letting the attention change anything about his approach and is making sure he stays “neutral.”

“I don’t think it’s any added pressure,” Thomas said. “I just have to block the noise out if anything…We have a saying that we like to stay neutral. No matter how things may seem, good or bad, we just have to understand that staying [we’re] in neutral making sure we taking one step at a time, one play at a time, make sure we get the job done.”

That neutral mentality is something he learned last season when O2X, a world-class training and education provider for tactical athletes, firefighters, law enforcement, and those in high-stress work environments, visited the team facility to discuss building mental strength on the football field. This group also works with quarterback Dak Prescott during the offseason and helps facilitate his offensive retreat with the skill guys.

“We had this group O2X come in; they came in last year, and that’s kind of when everything started where it was like during the game you may have a certain amount of minutes where things are high, a certain amount of minutes where things are low, but you mainly want to stay in that neutral position because you still have a job to do.”

Thomas’ new job is to step in with the first team at left tackle after Tyler Guyton went down this week with what turned out to be a bone fracture, instead of a torn ACL, that will likely keep him out four to six weeks.

Other candidates on the Cowboys’ depth chart could have been considered first based solely on experience. Asim Richards is entering his third season with the team and started one game at left tackle against the Philadelphia Eagles last year. Hakeem Adeniji signed with Dallas this offseason as a free agent and has been in the league since 2020, but has not played at a tackle position since his rookie COVID year.

As head coach Brian Schottenheimer put it, both players are still in the mix and will get looks with the first team as well, but the tip of the cap goes to Thomas first. Having a neutral mindset isn’t the only thing that helped prepare the second-year player for this moment. Thomas spent a month working out with quarterback Dak Prescott this offseason, and in true leadership fashion, Prescott told him to stay ready for when his time comes.

Coming out of college from Louisiana and playing for the Rajin Cajuns, Thomas showed some strong play at the left tackle position. He also showed promise of having some flexibility to kick inside, which was the original plan last season under Mike McCarthy.

However, knee tendinitis and a “slight tear in his patella” kept him sidelined for the entire 2024 season. Coming into the offseason and training camp, Thomas was almost on the outside looking in, considering all of the quality depth Dallas brought in this offseason. He looked like he was in for a battle just to maintain a roster spot.

Now, the dark horse candidate has become the lead horse for what could be lining up against the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants the first two weeks of the season, depending on Guyton’s timeline to return. Having a veteran like Tyler Smith at his side, who has already helped Thomas a ton in this transition, should help as he steps into this lead role.

For now, Thomas will apply the lessons he learned last year during his time away from the field. He will not get too high or too low in these moments and will focus on the task at hand—being himself and being the best left tackle for the Dallas Cowboys.