The Landry Hat
Fansided

Grading the Cowboys’ rookies midway through the 2022 season

By Brandon Martinez

Oct 23, 2022; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams (54) celebrates making a sack and a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter against the Detroit Lions at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 23, 2022; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams (54) celebrates making a sack and a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter against the Detroit Lions at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
Oct 2, 2022; Arlington, Texas, USA; Washington Commanders defensive end Montez Sweat (90) and Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Tyler Smith (73) in action during the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Commanders AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 2, 2022; Arlington, Texas, USA; Washington Commanders defensive end Montez Sweat (90) and Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Tyler Smith (73) in action during the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Commanders AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

Day One Selection

T Tyler Smith (Round 1, pick 24)

This pick has aged a lot better than people initially thought it would. Sure, he does have seven penalties so far this year, and yes, he doesn’t look as dominant at this point as he was earlier in the year, but you couldn’t ask much more from Tyler Smith.

He practiced all offseason as a left guard and was then thrust into the starting left tackle spot after Tyron Smith’s injury. He shut down Shaq Barrett and Trey Hendrickson earlier on in the year and has been pretty reliable in both aspects of the blocking game.

As a pass blocker, Smith has allowed four sacks through eight games along with 16 pressures. As a rookie in the NFL starting right away, that is actually fairly decent. Certainly better than what Josh Ball was showing in the preseason. As a run blocker, Smith has a 65.0 run-blocking grade according to PFF, good for third among the Cowboys’ linemen.

Overall, given expectations out of the gate and his performance thus far, Smith deserves a lot of credit for doing his best to keep Cooper Rush and Dak Prescott off the ground. He still has a lot to clean up in terms of technique and penalties, but this is certainly better than anyone would have expected.

Grade: B

Home/Cowboys News