Getting the Cowboys’ offensive line back to the level it once owned is still a project. Tyler Smith is the exception. He’s already there, already established, and already the kind of player Dallas can build around.
Smith enters 2026 as the clear anchor on the line and, by the sound of it, one of the team’s most important players overall. The Cowboys may still be sorting out the rest of the front, but at left guard they know exactly what they have.
That wasn’t the path many expected when Dallas used a first-round pick on him in 2022. The Cowboys had gone years without taking an offensive lineman that early, last doing it with Zack Martin in 2014.
Along the way, they kept dipping into the middle rounds for help - Chaz Green, Connor Williams, Connor McGovern, Tyler Biadasz and Josh Ball all came in from Rounds 2-4. Smith, though, looked like something bigger from the start.
A multi-year starter at Tula, he arrived with the feel of a player who could mark the beginning of a new era up front.
Then the Cowboys got hit with a twist. Tyron Smith went down with a major leg injury in a late-August practice, and Dallas turned to Tyler Smith, who had spent the offseason preparing to play left guard, to fill in at left tackle.
He started all 17 games and held the job even after Tyron returned. Rookie growing pains were part of the deal, especially with the sudden switch, but Smith still did enough to land on the All-Rookie Team.
Once Tyron was back in 2023, Tyler moved back to guard and immediately looked like he belonged there all along. His play jumped from average tackle work to elite guard performance, and the accolades followed: his first Pro Bowl, then Second-Team All-Pro honors. He has been back to the Pro Bowl every year since and is now routinely mentioned among the best guards in football.
With the old names gone, Smith is the one carrying that mantle now. The Cowboys hope Tyler Booker, Cooper Beebe and others eventually join him in that conversation, but for the moment Smith is the lone star on the offensive line and the clearest leader in the group.
Dallas made that point again with last year’s extension, a deal that made Smith the NFL’s highest-paid guard. The structure was built with cap management in mind, giving the Cowboys room to keep reshaping the numbers year by year. And with Smith still only 30 when the contract ends, there’s no real concern about protecting the back end for leverage.
For 2026, the role is simple: starting left guard, with a 100% roster chance. The only real path away from that spot would be Smith moving to left tackle, a possibility that has lingered since his rookie year.
The Cowboys have tried to keep him where he’s at his best, and Smith has made it clear where he wants to play. But if Tyler Guyton or another option doesn’t lock down the job to his left, the idea won’t disappear.
Right now, Guyton has the inside track, with Nate Thomas pressing him and rookie Drew Shelton also in the mix. If Guyton stumbles through the summer, Dallas would likely take a longer look at Thomas and Shelton before asking Smith to slide over.
That said, the situation could also help the Cowboys get their five best linemen on the field, especially with T.J. Bass available as a solid starting guard.
For now, though, the cleanest answer is the obvious one: keep Tyler Smith at left guard and let him do what he does best. The Cowboys have enough moving parts elsewhere. This one feels settled.
In Other News...
Former Cowboys Defender Linked To Disturbing New Allegations
Former Cowboys defensive end Marcellus Wiley is back in the news for the wrong reasons, with his name now attached to a Florida domestic violence arrest and a separate set of allegations from his wife, Annemarie, that have pushed the situation well beyond a routine legal dispute. For Dallas fans who remember Wiley from his time on the edge, the story has taken on a deeply personal and unsettling tone as it moves from an alleged hotel altercation into family court and public accusations.
Annemarie has filed for divorce and sought a restraining order, while Wiley has denied the allegations and said he is focused on protecting their children as the legal process plays out. The case has already become more complicated with the couples family at the center of it, and the next developments are likely to matter as much for the personal fallout as for whatever comes next in court. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Have One Clear Answer To Washingtons Rasul Douglas Move
Washingtons addition of Rasul Douglas gives the Commanders another experienced option in their cornerback room, and it naturally puts a little more focus on how Dallas stacks up on the back end. The Cowboys have their own reasons to keep looking at the position, especially with the NFC East always turning roster moves into a measuring stick, and the contrast between the two teams corner groups is hard to ignore.
One name that keeps surfacing in that conversation is Kenny Moore, the veteran slot corner who was released by Indianapolis in May after the Colts were unable to find a trade partner. Moore has been one of the leagues more reliable nickel defenders for years, with a track record of handling a heavy workload inside and enough versatility to give a defense some flexibility. For Dallas, that kind of profile makes sense as the secondary continues to take shape around a division rivals latest move. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Pass Rush Just Sent A Message Fans Needed To See
A handful of Cowboys defenders are heading to Las Vegas next week for a pass-rush summit that says plenty about where this team wants its edge to come from. Rashan Gary, Donovan Ezeiruaku, Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark are set to join coach Brandon Jordan at the 2026 Sack Summit, a three-day gathering built for NFL rushers to trade technique, ideas and the kind of details that can change a season.
The timing matters, too, with training camp opening July 28 and Dallas still trying to bounce back from a defense that never found enough answers last year. For a unit that needs more disruption up front and better resistance against the run, the trip is less about offseason networking than it is about showing up with a plan, a sharper toolbox and a clearer sense of what the Cowboys need from them once camp begins. [Read more 🡒]