5 Cowboys players who are peaking at just the right time

4. Tyler Smith, LG

Tyler Smith, Dallas’ first round pick in 2022, is playing as good as any guard in the NFL. Graded fifth amongst his peers, Smith has already established himself as one of the leagues most elite interior players in the game. It’s also worth pointing out, at age 22, he’s the youngest player in PFF’s list of top-30 guards.

Coming off a standout performance against the Eagles, Smith is playing the best football of his career right now. Philadelphia boasts arguably the best defensive interior in the NFL and their best player, Jalen Carter, was matched up primarily against Smith most of the night. Smith stonewalled him.

Not only does Smith offer dominance as a pass protector and run blocker, but his athleticism allows him to play outside in a pinch. Smith can easily make second level blocks in the running game and has shown he can handle all the reads and adjustments needed to survive the various stunts and blitzes faced in pass protection.

Nearly every game Tyler Smith gets better and it’s allowing the men next to him to thrive as well. At LT Tyron Smith is playing the best he has in years and it stands to reason part of that is because Tyler Smith is handling business next to him. At the same time, Tyler Biadasz is finding a good degree of success at center because he knows Zack Martin and Tyler Smith are executing all their assignments next to him as well.

In a game of inches it’s important to have powerful players playing at the peak of their abilities and Tyler Smith is doing that for the Cowboys.