DALLAS — With the 29th pick in the 2024 NFL draft, the Dallas Cowboys selected Tyler Guyton, offensive tackle from Oklahoma. There was a little bit of irony involved as the team that has waited all offseason to make any serious roster improvements made their fans wait a little longer when they traded out of their original pick at No. 24 overall and moved back five spots before landing Guyton.
After letting veteran left tackle Tyron Smith walk away in free agency this offseason, the Cowboys had a big need to replace him along a transitioning offensive line, and Guyton is the player that Dallas has tabbed to fill that gaping hole.
Guyton is a relative newcomer as a lineman but has experience playing both tackle positions and has the tools to develop into what the team hopes is their new Pro Bowl offensive lineman.
Guyton enjoys a bit of a homecoming by landing with Dallas after beginning his college career and playing sparingly as an H-back at TCU. The 6-foot-8 Guyton transferred to Oklahoma ahead of the 2022 season, and then started 20 games over the course of two seasons with the Sooners. While playing both left and right tackle, Guyton allowed just two sacks during his time in Norman, with none coming in 2023.
While Guyton is thought to be somewhat raw as a prospect, there’s no denying his skillset. He possesses elite size, athleticism, feet, power, and movement with room to grow. He isn’t the most polished tackle in the draft, but few have Guyton’s upside.
Guyton’s overall size might prove to be an issue and he’s played only 1.5 years of football at a high level, so the Cowboys are banking on their ability to develop the Manor, Texas native moving forward. Guyton lacks the reps of other tackles and needs some technical refinement in his game, but he’s shown that he’s a fast learner while continuing to get better at Oklahoma.
With Dallas moving back from their original spot in the first round, the pick was met with some skepticism from Cowboys fans, especially those who wanted someone more established, but the organization has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to drafting offensive linemen with recent first-rounder Tyler Smith also developing from a raw prospect into a stalwart on the line by the end of the 2023 season.
This selection will also be discussed for years to come for who they didn’t select at No. 24 overall as much as for who they ended up with at No. 29. The team had arguably the best center in the draft staring them in the face when they came on the clock with their original pick, but Dallas elected to trade back.
Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton, a fan favorite, was there for the taking but the team passed on selecting him and added to their draft cache, receiving the 29th and 73rd picks overall, the latter being an early third-round selection from the Detroit Lions. By the time Dallas was back on the clock, Barton was gone at pick No. 26 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It felt like the Cowboys had made their decision about what they wanted to do early in the draft, and they were steadfast in wanting to accumulate more draft capital in a year where they came into the draft with more roster needs than usual.
A glaring one of those needs, however, was center where Dallas lost starter Tyler Biadasz to free agency, so Barton might have been the choice had they decided not to trade, but the value of getting another third-round pick was too good to pass up, and ending up with Guyton is a nice consolation prize.
Nevertheless, Barton and Guyton will now forever be linked in Cowboys history, much like Shawn Merriman and DeMarcus Ware, J.J. Watt and Tyron Smith, and T.J. Watt and Taco Charlton. The extra compensation gives the Cowboys the benefit of the deal, but this decision will be talked about for a long time, especially if one of these lineman go on to have a superlative career while the other flounders.
Now the Cowboys move forward in the draft with their future LT in tow. It was evident that the Cowboys wanted to address their offensive line in the draft and Guyton was one of their top options. The team had a need at the position and found their handpicked successor to future Hall of Famer Smith.
The selection of Guyton also means that Dallas is likely to keep Tyler Smith at left guard, where he was an All-Pro in his second season. With Guyton in the mix, the Cowboys now have a young, talented, and athletic duo on the left side and the hope is that the tandem will be together for a long time.
Draft Grade: B+
It’s difficult to put a grade on the selection of Guyton without factoring in the third-round pick that the team added for moving back, or the players they passed up to make the move. Judging solely on Guyton the player, the Cowboys would get a B as it’s not a surefire selection despite his talent. The team drafted an elite prospect, but one that’s not nearly as polished as some of the other tackles in the draft.
However, adding a top-75 pick in return for moving down five spots when the team desperately needed to add picks to fill out a depleted roster tacks a plus on the B for Dallas as they came away with an exciting prospect at an area of need and another pick to play with.
Ultimately, if Guyton booms rather than busts, this is a slam dunk selection for the Cowboys and that’s all you can ask for selecting at the bottom of the first round.
What would you grade the pick of Tyler Guyton at No. 29 after the Cowboys traded down? Share your thoughts with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.