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Tyler Smith could be on the move again.
The Tulsa product, who will turn 23 in early April, has been shuffled between left guard and left tackle ever since being selected in the first round of 2022’s draft. And amid another offseason of change for the Dallas front five, which position Smith will occupy in the coming year is of high concern, as it has the potential to drive other key choices, especially when it comes to a talented draft class of offensive tackles.
Despite turning in a Pro Bowl campaign in 2023 at guard, Smith may now be headed back to the position he was originally drafted for.
Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported on Sunday that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is treating Smith as “the working option at left tackle” heading into draft weekend.
Per Jerry Jones, the Cowboys couldn’t afford to keep Tyron Smith and chance him hitting the incentives in the Jets deal. Tyler Smith is the working option at left tackle going into the draft
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) March 24, 2024
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“I’d say that’s a good, viable thing,” Jones explained, per Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News. “Keep the idea there. Don’t dismiss the idea. … Certainly, he’s potentially– I want to say a great player at left tackle.”
Tyler Smith came to Dallas just as questions about Tyron Smith’s durability were getting loud. Tyron had been bothered by ankle injuries throughout the 2021 season, causing him to miss six games in the back half of the regular schedule. And the year prior, he had played in just two games total.
Tyler looked to be the eventual heir apparent at left tackle but spent his rookie camp learning left guard, ostensibly to give him valuable playing time until he (and Tyron) were ready for an official passing of the baton.
But when Tyron suffered a torn hamstring just before the start of the 2022 season, Tyler was quickly moved over. He played all 17 games at left tackle to lead the entire Cowboys roster in snaps on the year, and he played so well he was kept at tackle even after Tyron was healthy enough to return in late December.
With a fully healthy Tyron, 2023 saw Tyler go back to left guard, where he was named to his first Pro Bowl and earned second-team All-Pro honors over 14 game appearances.
But when Tyron left the Cowboys in free agency to sign with the Jets, it created a dilemma for the Dallas coaching staff. Where to play Tyler this season? Executive vice president Stephen Jones hinted last month that he may stay at guard, saying the situation was “starting to feel like Larry Allen all over again.”
But now Jerry is implying something different.
The 2024 draft class is stocked with several top-tier offensive linemen that look to be worthy of a first-round pick, but most of them are tackles by trade. It’s easy to envision a scenario where one of them falls to the Cowboys at 24 and he becomes a Week 1 starter at tackle alongside the now-veteran Tyler Smith at guard.
Or at least it was.
Jerry’s suggestion that Tyler may switch positions once again could mean that the front office has their eye on a guard- either in the draft or in free agency- or that they plan to bring in a prospect with the versatility to learn a new position over the summer and then hope he can play it at a high caliber in the fall.
Just like Tyler did not that long ago.