Brian Schottenheimer has an embarrassment of riches with the Dallas Cowboys' offensive personnel. Even without a healthy CeeDee Lamb or a comfortable solution at left tackle, or a defense to support them, America's Team slaughtered opposing defenses during the 2025 NFL season.
And while the Cowboys' wide receiver tandem or collection of skill position players certainly have an argument to be among the best groups in the league, Dallas can stand convicted in the fact that their interior offensive line is what makes them go and is certainly the NFL's best, or at the worst, No. 2.
The trio of Tyler Smith, Tyler Booker, and Cooper Beebe should only continue to get better and more cohesive with time and reps in Schottenheimer's system. That is only good news for Cowboys fans, but for a young and promising lineman buried behind them, it can be tricky to navigate.
T.J. Bass finds himself in such a situation in Dallas, being a secret weapon for a franchise that hopes it never has to use him.
Dallas Cowboys' backup IOL T.J. Bass is a hopefully unneeded ace in the hole
After a strong career at Oregon, Bass joined the Cowboys as an unlikely UDFA. He quickly impressed Mike McCarthy and his staff, which included Schottenheimer, and made the 53-man team, but his opportunities have been limited because, well, Dallas' interior offensive line is just so stout.
Honestly, his best chance of getting on the field during the 2026 NFL season, outside of an injury, is if the Cowboys' left tackle battle goes horribly and Smith is once again called upon to slide outside and protect Dak Prescott's blind side. That's how good the trio in the middle is for Dallas.
But Bass is finally getting his due as a starting-caliber player of sorts. ESPN's Bill Barnwell performed an exercise in which he created an "All-Backups Team," comprised of non-starters around the league. Of course, for his interior offensive front, he chose Bass.
"An undrafted free agent, Bass has started 10 games over the past three years for the Cowboys and would be a starter on a fair number of teams around the league. In Dallas, he is stuck behind the best guard duo in football with Tyler Smith and Tyler Booker in the lineup."
Now, Bass is not necessarily an all-world player who is being screwed over by the Cowboys. He has proven to be more than serviceable, but it is not as if Dallas would be better off with him in the lineup. The fact that he's a depth piece, though, only proves how strong these trenches are.
Again, the Cowboys should hope that they never have to rely on Bass, as that would mean an injury occurred or disaster struck at tackle and some of the pieces had to be moved around. But having him as an ace in the hole makes Bass a secret weapon; one capable of inflicting some serious damage.
Cowboys safety P.J. Locke named to ESPN's All-Backup team
Bass wasn't the only Cowboy on Barnwell's list, though, which is a testament to how much better this Dallas roster already is in one offseason. He was joined by safety P.J. Locke, who signed during free agency on a fairly team-friendly deal.
"Locke was probably stretched as a starter for the Broncos in 2024 and might be best as a third safety. But as a player in his prime with starting experience on a very good defense, he's going to be a starter for this [All-Backup] team."
Dallas' secondary was quite porous last season, so the fact that a player of Locke's caliber isn't etched in as a starter speaks volumes to the talent influx on defense this year. With Locke as the third safety, the Cowboys can rotate more often and deploy Caleb Downs and Jalen Thompson in different roles, or survive an injury or series of underperformances.
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