National Football League

Tyler Smith is a cornerstone of Cowboys' future. But where will he play?

Updated Mar. 25, 2024 12:05 p.m. ET

Enough time has passed for Cowboys fans to move to the final stage of grief: acceptance.

Tyron Smith has signed his contract with the Jets and spoken to the New York media. He's off to man the blind side for Aaron Rodgers in the Jets' bid to push past a disastrous 2023 season.

It will always be perplexing that the Cowboys were unwilling to pay Smith a deal that only carries $6.5 million in guarantees and a $12.5 million cap hit, but that is irrelevant now. The Cowboys will move forward without their five-time All-Pro.

As we accept this new reality, this story will focus on the other Smith, who is now one of the keys to the Cowboys' 2024 — Tyler Smith.

It doesn't take a genius to recognize this Dallas front office has an interesting choice to make around their youngest All-Pro. Smith was drafted two years ago to be a "left side" player; a lineman who could slot in at left guard while eventually taking over at left tackle.

The irony is that the younger Smith spent his rookie season at left tackle when the elder Smith went down with a knee injury in training camp.

And while he might have been solid as a left tackle, it's hard to deny how Smith blossomed when he kicked inside in Year 2. Pro Football Focus graded him as the No. 9 guard in the league among those who played at least 50% of the snaps. He allowed one sack, two quarterback hits and just 17 pressures — numbers that compare favorably to any guard in the league. He was voted a second-team All-Pro for the effort.

The Cowboys gave Smith No. 73 after they drafted him, so it shouldn't be surprising his performance reminded team officials of the guy who made it famous.

"It's starting to feel like Larry Allen all over again," said Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones last month. "The great thing about Tyler is his versatility. He could be a great left tackle, too. Larry Allen played one or two years at left tackle, and I think he made All-Pro those years, too. Tyler's got that in him."

Have the Dallas Cowboys set themselves up for failure this season?

Allen was a six-time All-Pro and a 10-time Pro Bowler at guard, putting him firmly in the conversation for the best to ever play the position. But, to Jones' point, he was also named first-team All-Pro in 1998, his first and only season starting at left tackle.

The Cowboys see Smith as having Allen-like ability if he stays at guard, but what if they also see him having the same type of potential outside?

Team owner/general manager Jerry Jones suggested that very thing Sunday as he arrived at this week's NFL owners' meetings.

"Don't dismiss that idea," Jones told reporters. "Certainly, he's potentially — I want to say a great player at left tackle."

So, it's at least an idea. Perhaps the reality depends on who's available when the Cowboys make their No. 24 overall pick in this year's draft.

It sounds scary to pin so much emphasis on a draft pick, but it's possible the depth of this draft class was part of the decision to let Tyron Smith leave. This is a good year to need an offensive tackle, as you may have heard in the last few months.

The NFL Mock Draft Database, which maintains a consensus media big board based on hundreds of rankings and mock drafts, lists seven offensive tackles that are unanimously seen as first-round prospects. Thrown in a few others who have an outside chance, and the talent pool at the position looks as impressive as it has in a decade or more.

Top 100 NFL Draft big board | Top 10 OT prospects | Top 10 IOL prospects | Joel Klatt's mock draft

Even sitting back at pick No. 24, it makes sense if the Cowboys think their next All-Pro blocker could fall to them on draft night.

"This is a tackle draft. Take the guy at 24 if he's available," said FOX Sports analyst and former NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz.

That sounds simple enough. Find a rookie tackle early, keep Smith at the position where he was an All-Pro and allow the combination of him and Zack Martin to help whoever starts at center in 2024.

'This team is in grave danger of missing the playoffs next year.' — Skip Bayless on the Cowboys

Our thought exercise becomes more interesting if the Cowboys move Smith back to tackle. To be clear, it's a perfectly good guess Smith — turning 23 next month — could fill the role. During his rookie season, he was credited with allowing six sacks and 40 pressures by PFF. His overall grade of 73.3 ranked 23rd among 57 NFL tackles who played 50% or more of their team's snaps.

"I don't think it's his best position, but you can get serviceable play from him," Schwartz said. "If you rank them 1-32, he's an above-average left tackle."

That would work just fine, especially if Smith continues to develop as he has to this point in his career.

It might even be appealing to the Cowboys' coaching staff to know that — unless a standout talent falls to them at No. 24 — they can protect Dak Prescott's blind side with an experienced NFL left tackle, rather than a rookie.

The issue crops up with what to do about his vacated guard spot. If a switch were to happen, the Cowboys would find themselves with two new starters inside, as Tyler Biadasz is now a Washington Commander.

There are interior options on the roster. Undrafted free agent T.J. Bass made the roster as a rookie last year and played 341 snaps at guard in spot duty. Second-year pro Brock Hoffman also saw action at center and guard. Those are the year's intriguing names, but it's hard to imagine the Cowboys won't at least try to create competition during draft weekend.

Could that happen in the first round?

You've likely heard a lot about Oregon's Austin Powers-Johnson and Duke's Graham Barton. Powers-Johnson is widely seen as the best center in this draft class, whereas Barton can conceivably play all five offensive line positions — with his best spots seen as center and guard.

That flexibility could be useful in several cases. Prospects like Washington's Troy Fautanu, Arizona's Jordan Morgan and Oregon State's Taliese Fuaga are all seen as guys with the ability to play both guard and tackle. With Smith as a viable option to play tackle, here's an early guess that those players would start their Cowboy careers at guard.

There will be other options. West Virginia's Zach Frazier, UConn's Christian Haynes, Kansas State's Cooper Beebe, Georgia's Sedrick Van Pran-Granger and Kansas' Dominick Puni are all names worth knowing.

Laugh if you want, but with plenty of free agent veterans still available, you should also still count on the Cowboys adding some outside help — even if it is a bargain-bin signing.

The question is less about what the options are and more about which path the Cowboys prefer to take.

Given their lack of activity to date, and the depth of the tackle class in front of them, it's easy to assume the Cowboys are hunting for their left tackle of the future. Depending on how the dominoes fall, maybe that's true.

It's still worth remembering that this is the reason Tyler Smith is here in the first place. And if he is the answer to that problem, how does it affect the rest of the puzzle?

David Helman covers the Dallas Cowboys for FOX Sports and hosts the NFL on FOX podcast. He previously spent nine seasons covering the Cowboys for the team's official website. In 2018, he won a regional Emmy for his role in producing "Dak Prescott: A Family Reunion" about the quarterback's time at Mississippi State. Follow him on Twitter at @davidhelman_.