We continue our talent tiers series with the Cowboys’ offensive linemen. The last breakdown was of the skill positions at QB, RB, WR, and TE, and now we’ll get into the guys who set them up for success. The goal of this series is to see how Dallas’ level of talent and security among both starters and backups could impact draft strategy at various points throughout the process.
As you look through the list, keep in mind that these rankings are relative to a player’s expected role in 2026. We’re not
saying that T.J. Bass is better than Cooper Beebe, but that Bass is just more impressive as a backup than Beebe is right now as a starter.
The Elite
G Tyler Smith
While we miss the days of having multiple names at this spot like Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, and Travis Frederick all playing together, Tyler could at least have been one of their peers. He’s more than delivered as a 2022 first-round pick, just going to his third-straight Pro Bowl. Keeping him in this elite tier depends on keeping him at guard, where he belongs, and not trying to bump him out to tackle. Right now, that doesn’t seem to be the plan. But we know they’ll always have it in a glass case if needed.
Very Good
G Tyler Booker
G T.J. Bass
Even as a rookie, Booker quickly emerged as one of the NFL’s better guards. Pro Football Focus had him as the top rookie and 16th overall, which is fantastic in a league with 64 starting jobs at the position. What Booker could do in his second year is very exciting, and could even move him into the elites. But even if he doesn’t raise the bar one centimeter, Booker’s already giving Dallas a nice return on investment.
Dallas expects to retain T.J. Bass on at least a one-year RFA contract, if a longer-term deal isn’t reached. While he was not a full-time starter, Bass played enough to grade out 29th overall among NFL guards. That helps explain why the Cowboys are willing to pay him a $5.8 million salary to hang around, and why we have him in this “Very Good” tier. He’d likely be a solid, average starter in the NFL, but he’s proven to be a pretty exceptional backup.
Good Enough
C Cooper Beebe
C Matt Hennessy
Speaking of second-year development, we didn’t see as much from Beebe as we’d have liked. He ranked right in the middle of starting centers, but that was partly due to hampered play and missed time from an ankle injury. A third-year leap would easily take Beebe into the upper echelons, but we need to see it first.
Hennessy also seems perfectly solid for his projected backup role. Remember that we are ranking guys relative to that role, so this isn’t saying that Beebe and Matt Henessy are on the same level talent-wise. But for one expected to start and the other to be his backup, both seem good enough for those respective jobs. Hennessy graded well as a 17-game starter for the Falcons in 2021, and now brings more experience and perhaps more polish to the backup role than Brock Hoffman had.
Causes for Concern
OT Tyler Guyton
OT Terence Steele
OT Nathan Thomas
OT Ajani Cornelius
OT Marcellus Johnson
G Trevor Keegan
G Nick Leverett
Yeah, it ain’t pretty at offensive tackle. Guyton and Steele were about as bad a starting duo as you could have last year, both grading near the bottom of the league. And despite a lot of hype coming out of the summer, Nathan Thomas didn’t look any better in the games he played. You’re still hoping for development from Guyton and Thomas as third-year players, plus better health for Guyton. But, as a wise, old inmate at Shawshank State Penitentiary once warned us, “Hope is a dangerous thing.”
The rest of these guys are just bodies until proven otherwise. Cornelius only played seven snaps last year and all on special teams, and all from the same game. He didn’t even dress for the other 16. Trevor Keegan made the initial roster as a third interior option behind Bass and Hoffman, but barely played before a neck injury ended his season in October. He has some intrigue as a former fifth-round pick by the Eagles in 2024, but we just haven’t seen him yet.
Johnson and Leverett are both holdovers from last year’s practice squad. Like Keegan, this will be their first offseason in the Cowboys system. Maybe they surprise us with how they’ll perform this summer, but they’re not stopping Dallas from adding depth now.
Obviously, we have very different situations between the interior line and the tackles. At guard, you have an established All-Pro and perhaps an emerging one. Your center is average with plenty of room for further development. And you have an exceptional depth piece in T.J. Bass. On the edges, though, your starters are among the worst in the league, and nobody is making waves behind them.
While defense is the rightful focus of this 2026 draft, you can see why Dallas would still take a long, hard look at an offensive tackle prospect. One of the more likely scenarios for the 12th pick, if the Cowboys don’t trade up, is that all of those premier defensive guys will get scooped and leave a tackle like Francis Mauigoa, Spencer Fano, or Monroe Freeling as the BPA. One of them could even fall to 20th, which would get very interesting.
Granted, the Cowboys will be loath to add a guy who doesn’t start immediately with a first-round pick. But after last year, who’s to say that a rookie couldn’t walk in and beat out Guyton or Steele for their jobs? And even if they’re the swing tackle to start the year, a lot of scenarios could lead to them starting before the end of the season. Still, though, given all of Dallas’ other roster concerns, it’s hard to imagine they wouldn’t have a pretty comparable talent at a position with a greater immediate need for a starter.
Tackle seems way more like an option for the third round. Let’s assume the Cowboys get two defenders on Thursday night. By the time we get to the 92nd pick, OT is one of the deeper positions in this class and should still have some solid candidates. Taking a guy there who can challenge Thomas for the swing role and hopefully develop into an eventual replacement for Steele, or even Guyton, feels a lot better on Friday night than Saturday. But even then, Dallas could still easily go defense with the perceived depth at cornerback and safety. And if they didn’t get an inside linebacker the night before, the Cowboys may almost be forced to look that way in the third round.
Clearly, if the Cowboys go offensive at all on Day 1 or Day 2, it should be for an offensive tackle. It’s by far their biggest weakness on that side of the ball, both in the starting spots and the depth. There are plenty of reasons why it won’t happen, given other needs, but Dallas could make the case for a tackle even with one of its first-round picks.
