Cowboys' duo being named among NFL's best comes with a caveat
Pro Football Focus analyst Gordon McGuinness named Dallas Cowboys offensive tackles Tyron Smith and Terence Steele the fifth-best OT duo in the entire NFL. While certainly exciting to hear it, there's one slight problem.He might've forgotten about the existence of second-year lineman Tyler Smith. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration. I don't actually think McGuinness forgot about […]
Pro Football Focus analyst Gordon McGuinness named Dallas Cowboys offensive tackles Tyron Smith and Terence Steele the fifth-best OT duo in the entire NFL. While certainly exciting to hear it, there's one slight problem.
He might've forgotten about the existence of second-year lineman Tyler Smith.
Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration. I don't actually think McGuinness forgot about him. But it does go to show how weird the Cowboys' situation is at offensive line. While many will understandably look at Tyron Smith and Terence Steele as the projected starters outside like McGuinness, that's not what's happening in OTAs right now.
Per Michael Gehlken, "it would be a surprise if a healthy Tyron Smith does not start at right tackle." That's where he's practicing right now, at least during Thursday's practice available to the media.
Meanwhile, it's Tyler who is taking the snaps at left tackle while Steele remains unavailable as he recovers from a torn ACL suffered last year.
Whatever our opinion is on the topic (I believe Steele to be a better right tackle than Smith), the tea leaves suggest the Cowboys are leaning toward having Tyron play RT.
Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy preached the importance of continuity on offensive line during Thursday's press conference so it's difficult to not put any weight on what the team is doing right now. If Dallas was planning to play Tyron on the left side, he'd probably be seeing some work there too.
Considering Steele's status for Week 1 isn't clear, his health might also factor into the team's decision to move forward with Tyron Smith at right tackle with the former potentially switching to left guard as the team teased since early in the offseason.
However, it's still May. The coaching staff would be smart to play around with different combinations ahead of training camp and let the players decide what the lineup will look like once September comes around.
