Tyler Guyton makes Cowboys fans miss Tyron Smith with terrible game vs. Giants

The Dallas Cowboys made the difficult decision to move on from Tyron Smith in the offseason. Everyone but the Jones family wanted Smith back after his All-Pro 2023 season. To replace Smith, Dallas selected Tyler Guyton with the No. 29 overall pick in April.

With minimal starting experience at Oklahoma, Guyton was viewed as a development pick, but one who had enough raw talent to start right away. Having your left tackle learn on the job is always a risky strategy, but it will benefit Guyton in the long run.

In the meantime, though, Guyton's growing pains are a real nuisance to the offense. With the Cowboys driving before halftime against the Giants, Guyton was called for a holding penalty that took the offense out of field goal range. They had to settle for a punt.

Cowboys fans miss Tyron Smith amid Tyler Guytons' rough game vs. the Giants

Guyton now has three holding penalties in four games to start his career. It is also the second straight game that Guyton committed a penalty on the last drive of the first half that cost Dallas significant yardage. Last week, Guyton's holding erased a long defensive pass interference on CeeDee Lamb that would have given the offense a 1st-and-goal.

This is the risk that comes with starting a rookie tackle who played just 70 snaps at left tackle in college.

While the Cowboys had to draft a tackle this year, they could have done so and re-signed Tyron Smith. That isn't against the rules. Smith revealed after he signed with the Jets that he wanted to come back to Dallas, but the team played hardball at the negotiation table. He ultimately got an incentive-laden contract from New York - one that Jerry Jones absolutely could have matched.

Nobody is writing off Guyton. He showed in preseason and has showed in moments during the regular season that he can become a high-level starter at LT. However, it is fair to question the front office for entrusting a rookie who barely played the position in college to replace a potential future Hall of Famer in a crossroads season.

Guyton will be better in the long run for taking these lumps, but he's become a real hindrance to the offense and the calendar hasn't turned to October yet. It's going to be tough living until he gets comfortable. Holding penalties make it impossible to execute in the red zone and in 2-minute drills and he can't help but hold right now.

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