Everyone points to Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens or Javonte Williams when asked to explain why the Dallas Cowboys' offense was so great in 2025. If they're forced to name an offensive lineman, most would vouch for Tyler Smith, whose massive deal has been worth every penny thus far.
But rookie Tyler Booker came in and showed out during his inaugural season, even without Cooper Beebe by his side for a good portion of the campaign. As was the case with Smith, the Cowboys came under fire for the Booker selection, only for it to mature wonderfully in front of our very eyes.
And after that successful rookie year, Booker has started to get some serious praise around the league for his performance. With that comes expectations, though. In that vein, one fairly obvious thing is holding him back from launching into that very top echleon of interior offensive linemen.
Dallas Cowboys' Tyler Booker narrowly misses spot in NFL's top 10 IOL
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler recently asked NFL executives, coaches and scouts to rank the top 10 interior offensive linemen in the league, combining centers and guards. The results of this survey were, of course, crowning Tyler Smith as the best in the league ahead of the 2026 NFL season.
What caught my eye, though, was that Booker, after just one season, was the second player listed in the "honorable mention" category, just behind fellow rookie Grey Zabel. Oh, and Booker is the youngest player anywhere on the list by over two years, meaning he's well ahead of the curve already.
How can he cross the finish line and vault himself into the top 10, though? One NFL coordinator had a quick evaluation that spoke volumes about where Booker can improve.
"Strong and athletic with physicality," the coordinator noted. "[But he] struggles a bit with guys that are good lateral movers."
Let's be clear: Booker already being considered a great player after just one season is another cart to put on the Cowboys' 2026 hype train. But if Dallas wants its young player to truly be elite, he needs to clean some things up from his first year, as all young players do.
As a rookie, Booker was penalized seven times. That is not a worrisome number, like Smith's were early in his career, but Booker could definitely channel a bit more of that physicality and hone his technique heading into Year 2 to simply limit the negatives. But that wasn't the main worry.
He also gave up 3 sacks and 25 pressures in 2025, including at least one pressure in every game. His pass pro dramatically lagged behind his prowess as a run blocker. Booker struggled most against the New York Giants (both games), Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Commanders (both games).
What did all three of those teams have in common last season? Interior players who move well laterally, such as Dexter Lawrence, Justin Eboigbe or Daron Payne, and smart coaches who could pick out matchups like Jesse Minter and Dan Quinn.
Booker wasn't picked on, but he lost his share of reps against savvy veterans.
Again, all in all, Booker had a tremendous rookie year. There's a reason that he's already knocking on the door of the top 10 among 96-plus starters on NFL interior offensive lines. But to crash the list this year, Booker must improve his agility and craft to contain quick lateral movers.
When he does, Booker will join Smith near the top of the list, and opponents will have no chance of pressuring Prescott up the middle or getting to Williams between the tackles.
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