The Dallas Cowboys made the first shocking pick -- pick, not trade - of the NFL Draft when they selected Alabama guard Tyler Booker at No. 12 overall.
Booker is the finishing piece to Dallas' three-headed monster along the interior offensive line alongside Tyler Smith at left guard and Cooper Beebe at center.
Newly-minted head coach Brian Schottenheimer has preached about wanting to be more physical on offense, specifically bringing violence to the run game. Booker offers plenty of that at 6-5 and 321 pounds, but Cowboys fans can't help but scratch their heads at the pick given the need and value.
Former Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy was a guest on Pat McAfee's 2025 Draft Spectacular and made a live reaction to the pick. It will not surprise Cowboys fans that McCarthy is in favor of the pick while they pull their hair out.
Mike McCarthy had predictable reaction to Cowboys' Tyler Booker pick
“If you had asked me who’d we be picking this is the way I think we’d go," McCarthy said, if he was still coaching the Cowboys. "It’s an offensive line that is better today than it was this point last year because they had five young offensive linemen play a ton of football. Now, you’re adding Tyler. I think you’re hopefully getting back to the good old days in Dallas.”
Welp, that settles it: Booker wasn't a great pick. If McCarthy would have done it, that probably isn't a ringing endorsement.
The Cowboys had a very inconsistent drafting record during McCarthy's tenure. While the team drafted CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons, Tyler Smith under McCarthy, the overall batting average was low.
They missed badly on the 2023 draft, which is a recipe for disaster with how little this front office spends in free agency and Dallas has suffered the consequences. They didn't learn under McCarthy that you can build a good offensive line without spending premium picks on it, and they still haven't.
That isn't McCarthy's fault, obviously. However, it speaks volumes that McCarthy would have wanted the boring pick that was a massive reach and doesn't move the needle whatsoever if he was still in the saddle.