Cowboys have some controversy cooking at offensive line
The Dallas Cowboys have some controversy cooking at offensive line heading into the 2023 NFL season and that's regardless of what happens in the upcoming draft at the end of the month. After all, the front office and HC Mike McCarthy have heavily hinted at the possibility of Tyron Smith being the starter at right […]
The Dallas Cowboys have some controversy cooking at offensive line heading into the 2023 NFL season and that's regardless of what happens in the upcoming draft at the end of the month.
After all, the front office and HC Mike McCarthy have heavily hinted at the possibility of Tyron Smith being the starter at right tackle to begin the season. Whether that's because of Terence Steele's rehab timetable or because they believe Smith is the better pass protector is up to debate.
But the Cowboys have publicly said Steele is valuable as a swing tackle and have even suggested they'll look into giving him work as a guard even though he hasn't done that before in his career.
But what do the numbers say? Let's look into last week's Stat of the Week segment of my nightly show, A to Z Sports Dallas Primetime.
Per PFF, Terence Steele was graded as the sixth-best tackle in run blocking grade (among qualifying tackles). It's not a coincidence that once he went down injured, the Cowboys' running game went stagnant.
As a starter in 2022, he was a force. He worked double-team blocks alongside Zack Martin as one of the very best in the entire NFL and did a lot of damage in space, too. He was a big part of Tony Pollard's and Ezekiel Elliott's impressive start to the season.
Without him, the Cowboys didn't do nearly as much damage in the running game.
In contrast, Tyron Smith finished the season as the 117th best-graded tackle in run blocking. It has to be noted Smith didn't play enough snaps to filter out players with limited playing time.
But the argument for many seems to be that Smith is the better pass protector. While the future Hall of Famer has every credential imaginable to back that up at left tackle, can we say the same about his play on the right side?
If we go by pressure rate allowed, Steele had a better 2022 season and played significantly more time:
- Steele – 4.5%
- Smith 4.7%
And yes, that's a very small difference between the two. But the argument that Tyron's pass protection skills overpower Steele's work in the running game is just unfair. That's without even considering the fact that Tyron's durability is a serious concern.
And don't get me wrong. I'm all for Tyron Smith being a starter for the Cowboys next season. I'd consider the best possible lineup would have him at left tackle and Tyler Smith at left guard.
But playing the veteran at right tackle over Steele is one decision I can't get fully behind.
