While the Dallas Cowboys' secondary needs to get right, Dak Prescott will be without two important weapons on his own side of the football. The Cowboys need some desperate answers after the injuries of CeeDee Lamb and Tyler Booker, respectively.
Booker has played like a stud in his first three games in the NFL, and he looks to be the perfect fit for this Cowboy offense. Unfortunately, the 2025 first-rounder from Alabama will be out for four to six weeks with an ankle injury, and with Cooper Beebe already missing action, there's no time to waste.
Cowboys insider Bryan Broaddus of 105.3 The Fan brought his own opinion to the 'Trust the Tape' podcast with Jeff Cavanaugh on who should play in Booker's place.
Cowboys don't need to overthink replacing Tyler Booker
"I would consider putting Nate Thomas at guard. I know they're probably going to go with T.J. Bass off the rip...I would consider playing Nate Thomas at right guard just to keep the power element to it...If you're talking about guys off the bench, I think Nate Thomas needs to find a way to make his way on this field some place, somehow."
It's easy to see why Bass should take over for a few weeks, but Broaddus has a point saying that there's a glimpse of Thomas' talent when he uses his power for run blocking, and he should use that to try and find his place on the field. Thomas could very well be the best backup besides Hoffman, who's playing in the place of the injured Beebe.
However, Thomas playing at right guard would complicate things. With Bass already used to playing at guard, this would set up a risk for Thomas to play in his unnatural position. Most fans can agree that Thomas' size is too good to not use.
At 6-foot-5 and 331 pounds, there should be a place on the field for him. Even though he's shorter than the starting tackles, Tyler Guyton and Terrence Steele, he may work just as well in a guard position, but we just don't know it yet.
The Cowboys have plenty of things to work out before Micah Parsons comes to try and feast off his old team. The offense must continue to rely on Javonte Williams, who has been one of the few reliable guys on the entire team feeding off of Booker's awesome run-blocking.
Whether it's Bass or Thomas to take charge, it's going to be tough matching what Booker has done in his first three NFL starts.