DALLAS – The offensive line was once considered the strength of the Dallas Cowboys' roster, but that's not so much the case, these days.

That's because the unit has not only gotten older, but it's seen some pretty heavy turnover in recent years. It started when All-Pro center Travis Frederick retired before the 2020 season started and continued through the offseason with the release of La'el Colllins back in March. Couple those developments with a combined 27 missed games from All-Pros Tyron Smith and Zack Martin over the last two years and it's easy to see why the front five isn't what it once was.

All of the above -along with keeping Dak Prescott upright- is a major reason why the Cowboys selected offensive lineman Tyler Smith out of Tulsa with the 24th overall pick in the 2022 draft.

For now, Smith is slated to hold down the starting guard position opposite Zack Martin. But, if the Cowboys have their way, he won't be there for long.

In fact, the Cowboys see Smith as the future replacement for Tyron Smith, the team's left tackle.

"I just think his upside is tremendous," Stephen Jones recently said in an interview on Pro Football Talk's PFT PM podcast. "He played at a smaller school there at Tulsa. He only played in 18 games at Tulsa. But we just feel like his skill set really lends to him having an opportunity to be a top, top left tackle at some point."

A transition like that obviously takes time and the Cowboys know this. However, they also know that their prized rookie will learn from Smith, which can't be a bad thing, at all.

"Obviously, we got one of the best in the business for him to learn from in Tyron Smith," said Jones. "Certainly, Tyler Smith will get an opportunity to hit the field at some other spots at well. He'll compete on that left side: left guard, left tackle."

Tyron Smith has been with the Cowboys since they took him with the ninth overall pick in the 2011 draft. He was considered as the game's best left tackle at one point during his career and has garnered two first-team All-Pros to go along with eight Pro Bowls over the last decade.

It would certainly be weird seeing a different Smith at left tackle for the Cowboys. But such is life in the NFL. Players get older and less effective and then they get replaced with younger, more effective players.

And Jones realizes this.

"Unfortunately, Tyron has missed some time over the past four or five years, so we obviously have to take a look at that with his age and just the track record of him missing some games year in and year out," said Jones. "But we do feel like one of the reasons that we really wanted (Tyler) was his versatility and the upside to go out and play left tackle versus maybe taking a couple guys who were more center-only type guys. We just felt like it was best for our organization to go in that direction."

You can check out the full interview, here.

Featured image via Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports