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Playing ‘Reach or Value Pick?’ for Cowboys’ 2022 NFL Draft haul

By Terence Watson

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 04: Tyler Smith #OL48 of Tulsa runs the 40 yard dash during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 04, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 04: Tyler Smith #OL48 of Tulsa runs the 40 yard dash during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 04, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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The 2022 NFL Draft has finally come and gone for the Dallas Cowboys, and it was once again another roller coaster ride for fans who were trying to figure out what the Cowboys were trying to do. For the past few months, the front office has been saying that they wanted to make this team tougher and more aggressive. Looking at some of the players they added, they certainly followed that model.

Along with that mentality, they added players that are young and highly athletic. Sometimes, it seemed the front office even chose players for their physical traits rather than their experience, which is a thing Dallas has been doing for a while. These ideas have certainly worked in the past given that the Cowboys have had most of their draft picks, especially first-rounders, become Pro Bowlers right away.

Instead of giving out more grades, we wanted to take a look and see if any of the Cowboys’ picks made sense. We will play a game of reach or value with each of the nine additions.

Deciding whether the nine Cowboys 2022 NFL Draft additions were reaches or values

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – MARCH 04: Tyler Smith #OL48 of Tulsa runs the 40-yard dash during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 04, 2022, in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – MARCH 04: Tyler Smith #OL48 of Tulsa runs the 40-yard dash during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 04, 2022, in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

Tyler Smith, Left Guard – Tulsa (24th Pick)

Height: 6’4″  Weight: 324lbs

Career Stats: 25 career games, 23 career starts (Left tackle)

Team Impact: Starting left guard with the potential to become left tackle of the future.

We’ve been saying all offseason that the Cowboys needed to beef up their offensive line in order to help both quarterback Dak Prescott and running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard in the running game. Smith can do that by immediately coming in and starting as the team’s left guard. If you like how mean and physical La’el Collins was for Dallas, then you’re going to love Smith. He’s a mauler at the point of attack, and once he gets proper hand placement and gets his hand on defenders, he’s going to move and slam them.

If you take a look at Smith compared to other offensive tackles drafted ahead of him, there is one that he compares pretty closely. That draftee is the new Seattle Seahawk Charles Cross, who was taken ninth overall. This is according to their measurables and testing from MockDraftable.com. Athletically, Smith is a 97% match to Cross. Overall as an offensive tackle, he compares to Cross at a little over 80%. That’s not bad for a future offensive tackle that is still going to get better and is just now turning 21.

Draft Pick Assessment: Value Pick

This pick was all about the value based on his traits and the fact that teams did view Smith as a first-round talent. Whether you want to believe that the Titans wanted to take him or not, you have to see that Smith’s value for where they drafted him is pretty good when all he really needs to work on is his technique.

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