Tyler Smith serves as a reminder that the Cowboys could be excellent at touchdown first spherical studs

It’s already February and earlier than we all know it, the 2025 NFL Draft will probably be upon us. That is the second the Dallas Cowboys will do their heavy lifting in terms of constructing the roster. It’s no secret they worth the draft course of immensely like several staff ought to, however hitting on picks turns into extra vital for a staff that avoids free company just like the plague.

The Cowboys are an excellent drafting staff. Whether or not you return 5 years, 10 years, or 15 years, you’ll discover that this staff charges fairly excessive to find gamers within the draft. Now, if you happen to took a snapshot of simply these final couple of years, nicely, that’s a distinct story. Whereas they’ve nonetheless discovered good gamers right here and there, their most up-to-date drafts pale compared to the hauls they normally come away with. And with Mazi Smith and Tyler Guyton being the staff’s high alternatives in every of the final two drafts, it’s comprehensible to marvel if the Cowboy’s good drafting mojo has began to fade.

One would possibly keep in mind that again in 2022, the Cowboys had been closely criticized for choosing Tyler Smith twenty fourth general. Many “experts” projected Smith as a mid-second-round choose. Some felt the staff’s offensive line targets, significantly Zion Johnson and Kenyon Inexperienced, had been snatched up proper earlier than they had been on the clock, inflicting the Cowboys to panic and draft what they believed was the next-best offensive lineman.

The reality, nonetheless, is the Cowboys had Tyler Smith graded excessive on their board they usually had the right documentation to show it.

Simply this fast flash of his draft sheet (what’s fallacious with you, Jerry?) didn’t reveal a lot at first look however put it within the fingers of a sure Cool Buyer, and we’ve got ourselves some good information, people. CSI’ing this picture, OCC got here up with the next names for gamers who acquired a first-round grade from the Cowboys…

And their second-round grades had been as follows…

When the Cowboys had been up at choose 24, their highest-graded participant was Georgia security Lewis Cine (thirteenth on their board), however they opted to go together with their subsequent highest-graded participant, Tyler Smith (sixteenth on their board). Fortuitously, the Cowboys’ “trust their board” mantra has just a little wiggle room they usually took the participant who crammed a larger want. Good transfer.

Six offensive linemen went off the board earlier than the Cowboys flip to select.

Decide 6 – Ikem Ekwonu
Decide 7 – Evan Neal
Decide 9 – Charles Cross
Decide 15 – Kenyon Inexperienced
Decide 17 – Zion Johnson
Decide 19 – Trevor Penning
Decide 24 – Tyler Smith

Trying again, not solely did the Cowboys luck out with one of the best offensive lineman from this draft class, however they scored among the finest gamers in your entire draft. In a re-draft, Smith would simply go high 10 general and probably even within the high 5. He has the third-highest Approximate Worth rating from Professional Soccer Reference, trailing solely cornerbacks Sauce Gardner and Trent McDuffie.

Smith was a unbelievable choose. He’s an All-Professional left guard who will solely get higher with offensive line teaching ace, Klayton Adams, taking on because the Cowboys’ new offensive coordinator. And now, he can add dodgeball champion to his resume.

Within the blink of an eye fixed, Smith has not solely develop into the Cowboys’ finest offensive lineman however among the finest guards within the league. The staff will train his fifth-year choice this offseason and in some unspecified time in the future signal him to a contract extension.

Whereas current drafts stick in our thoughts, we should additionally keep in mind that Smith is the third piece to the CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons, Tyler Smith hat trick of first-round drafting from 2020 to 2022. The Cowboys have been excellent at this previously and with the twelfth general choose in April’s draft, it’s arduous to think about them not coming away with an excellent participant.