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Tyler Guyton #60 of the Dallas Cowboys

It is entirely possible that the current wave of concern about the Dallas Cowboys‘ offensive line amounts to a tempest in a teapot. The big concern, as things stand, is whether Tyler Guyton, the 2024 first-rounder who is being counted on to be the left tackle in 2026, is up to the task after a rough 2025 season that was hindered early by a training-camp knee injury and ended late by a high ankle sprain that saw him replaced in the lineup. Maybe Guyton just struggled to stay healthy, and once he gets through camp at 100%, he will be the pass-protection monster the team envisioned when he was picked two years ago.

That’s the easy path forward. But it’s not necessarily where the Cowboys were headed. Because even when Guyton was healthy last season, there were enough red flags to be concerned about his long-term viability at left tackle, despite his combination of athleticism, size and strength.

Indeed, as last year wound down with a disappointing 7-9-1 finish and with Guyton on the shelf, coach Brian Schottenheimer did leave open the possibility that Guyton had lost the job permanently, and that the Cowboys would weigh a long-term move of star guard Tyler Smith to tackle.

Flozell Adams: Move Tyler Guyton to Right Tackle

Kicking Smith out to tackle wouldn’t be so bad for the Cowboys, but the problem is, Smith is such an anchor for the line at guard that moving him out leaves the Cowboys diminished at guard and not great at tackle. But former Cowboys star Flozell Adams, a five-time Pro Bowl left tackle in Dallas, thinks that not only should the Cowboys move Smith to left tackle, but that Guyton should play right tackle.

That comes via longtime Cowboys beat writer Calvin Hill of DLLS Cowboys, who notes that Adams has a distinct vision of how the team’s line should be arranged.

Said Adams: “They should have left him at his natural position because he was a right tackle at Oklahoma as far as I know. They should have put him at right tackle and moved the other guy to left tackle.”

Cowboys Could Overhaul Offensive Front

Indeed, one of the attractions to Guyton coming out of college was that he was capable of playing both the right and left tackle spots, though he did wrap up as a right tackle with the Sooners. As the NFL.com scouting report said of him before the Cowboys drafted Guyton: “Guyton’s value comes with his pass protection, as he has the length, feet and body control to become a human roadblock. He should become a talented starter at either tackle position.”

Having Guyton at right tackle would presumably mean Terence Steele is moved to a reserve role. But Adams foresaw a complete overhaul on the left side.

Hill noted: “(Adams) said Guyton should play right tackle in college, he should probably play right tackle here. Maybe that’s an option for next year. He also said they should move Tyler Smith to left tackle. He also said they should move Tyler Booker from (right guard) to left guard. … Talking permanent, not just for a game or two.

“Tyler Smith and Tyler Booker at left tackle and left guard, and Tyler Guyton at right tackle. That’s how he would line it up.”