Tyler Smith is now sitting at the top of ESPN’s latest interior lineman rankings, giving the Cowboys another strong showing in the network’s ongoing position-group rollouts.
ESPN’s lists are being assembled from the opinions of league executives, coaches and scouts, so the idea is to capture how the NFL is being viewed right now by the people who help shape it. Dallas has already popped up a few times in these rankings. Jake Ferguson, Javonte Williams and DaRon Bland each got some recognition at their spots, while Quinnen Williams had been the high-water mark for the Cowboys so far by landing sixth among defensive tackles.
Smith has now passed them all.
The 25-year-old guard was ranked No. 1 among interior linemen, up from No. 2 a year ago. He is also the league’s highest-paid guard, and ESPN pointed to the same reason the Cowboys invested in him: he has become a force. The 2022 first-round pick has gone from tackle prospect to elite guard, stacking up three straight Pro Bowl selections along the way.
His production profile is strong, if not eye-popping. Smith posted win rates of 72.1% in the run game and 95.2% in pass protection.
But the ranking wasn’t built strictly on numbers. It was about what he looks like on the field.
In a tightly packed race, Smith got the edge on pure talent.
“Rare combination of size, athleticism, strength and finish,” an AFC exec said. “He’s like prime Jason Peters playing guard.”
There was one area where evaluators still see room for growth: playing with more control and cleaner technique. Even that comes with context, though, since Smith’s move from tackle to guard naturally affects how polished he can look.
“He has more flash plays than anybody,” an AFC exec said.
The Jason Peters comparison stands out because the two were teammates during Smith’s rookie year, when Tyler Smith was starting at left tackle for much of the season after Tyron Smith’s injury. That kind of versatility has been one of his most valuable traits, even if it doesn’t always get the same attention as his work inside.
Dallas even moved him back out to left tackle late last season, which sparked some questions about whether the team might be thinking about making that switch permanent. The Cowboys quickly shut that down once the offseason began.
The bigger picture is familiar in Dallas: identifying offensive line talent, drafting it and developing it has been a Cowboys strength for years, dating back to Tyron Smith’s arrival in 2011. That pipeline may be rolling forward again. Tyler Booker, last year’s first-round pick, was listed as an honorable mention in the same rankings.
For the Cowboys, it’s another sign they may be building toward something rare up front. They are not far from having what could be the consensus top interior line duo in the league.
In Other News...
Mike McCarthy Might Hand Cowboys A Backfield Chance They Desperately Need
Mike McCarthys move to Pittsburgh has already created an odd little ripple for the Cowboys, because one of the names worth watching in that Steelers backfield is Kaleb Johnson. The 2024 third-round pick is trying to carve out a backup role behind Rico Dowdle and Jaylen Warren, and with the room crowded around him, his path in Pittsburgh has become one of the more interesting camp battles to follow.
For Dallas, the intrigue is obvious. The Cowboys have been searching for backfield help, and Johnson is the kind of young runner who could become available if Pittsburgh decides to move in a different direction. He was a highly regarded part of the 2024 draft class and flashed the kind of production at Iowa that made him worth a close look, so if the door opens, Dallas would have a reason to be ready. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Fans Are Losing It Over This Dak Offseason Photo
A viral offseason image of Dak Prescott has been making the rounds and, even by the standards of internet football season, it has drawn plenty of attention from Cowboys fans. The picture plays into the kind of summer buzz that follows Prescott every year, especially with the quarterback once again serving as the face of a franchise trying to turn the page and get back into the postseason conversation.
Prescott has already set the tone for what he expects in 2026, saying making the playoffs is the minimum standard after Dallas missed out the last two years. That puts a little extra weight on everything around him, from the way he looks in the offseason to the way the Cowboys are being sized up before their opener against the Giants on Sunday Night Football in Week 1. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Fans Still Talk About This Texas Stadium Playoff Takeover
Texas Stadium had a way of turning playoff afternoons into part football game, part memory test, and the Cowboys gave their fans another one to keep in the early 1980s. In a second-round matchup from the strike-shortened 1982 season, Dallas handled Green Bay 37-26, with the kind of defensive edge that fit the era and the kind of flair that made Tom Landry teams so hard to forget.
Dennis Thurman was at the center of it with a three-interception performance, and the Cowboys also slipped in one of those creative Landry-era wrinkles that still gets passed around whenever old Texas Stadium stories come up. Between the takeaways and the improvisation, it was the sort of postseason win that helped define how Dallas wanted to be remembered in that stretch, and why fans still bring it up whenever the building and the old playoff runs get mentioned together. [Read more 🡒]