We continue scouting the 2026 NFL Draft class for the Dallas Cowboys by looking at the undrafted free agent class. Today we are looking at offensive tackle Shiyazh Pete from Kentucky.
Shiyazh Pete
OT
Kentucky Wildcats
Senior
No recruit rating
6’9”
309 lbs
History
Pete’s first year in college was 2021 at New Mexico State. Pete redshirted and did not appear in a game for the Aggies. That year was essentially a developmental season as he adjusted from small-school football to FBS size, speed and structure. His second year was his
first season of game action and the start of his rise as New Mexico State’s left tackle. He appeared in 12 games, started the final nine, and started in the Quick Lane Bowl. He helped the Aggies close the season with three straight 200-yard rushing games and a program-record 25 touchdowns.
His third year was the breakout season. Pete started all 15 games at left tackle for New Mexico State, helping the Aggies finish 10-5, reach the Conference USA Championship Game and play in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl. It was New Mexico State’s first double-digit-win season since 1960 and its first back-to-back bowl run since the 1959 and 1960 seasons. He earned First Team All-Conference USA honors, and Conference USA credited him with helping pace one of the nation’s best rushing attacks.
In 2024, the season was more complicated but still important for his profile. He entered the season with real national recognition but his 2024 season was interrupted by injury. He missed the first six games, then returned to start the final six at left tackle. In those 2024 snaps, he allowed five quarterback pressures on 193 pass-blocking plays, with two sacks and three hurries.
After the 2024 season, Pete became one of the more important offensive tackles in the transfer portal. With Kentucky needing a starting left tackle, they identified Pete as a 6-foot-8, 320-pound monster with 31 career left-tackle starts, and quickly got him into campus. He started all 12 games at left tackle for Kentucky, recording a team-high 35 knockdown blocks and 100 blocks at the point of attack. He was also named one of Kentucky’s four game captains at South Carolina.
2025 Statistics
808 Offensive Snaps
455 Pass Blocking Snaps
34 Pressures Allowed
3 QB Hits Allowed
6 Sacks Allowed
3 Penalties
Snap by Position
Left Tackle- 100%
NFL Combine/Pro Day
Awards
2023: First Team All-Conference USA
Scorecard
Overall– 42.9
Speed- 53
Acceleration- 59
Agility- 61
Strength- 59
Run Blocking- 47
Pass Blocking- 59
Discipline- 90
THE GOOD
- Rare tackle size and length
- True left tackle experience
- Plays with natural reach to play on the edge and cover up rushers
- Good movement skills for his size
- Shows enough foot quickness to mirror speed rushers in pass protection
- Shows burst out of his stance and can get quickly into his pass set
- Proven ability to handle extended starter workload
- Has high character and work-ethic indicators
THE BAD
- Can miss with his initial punch with too much regularity
- Has a habit to overset and lose the inside
- Needs to create more movement in the run game
- Run-game power does not consistently match his size
- Needs more anchor consistency versus speed-to-power
- He has to work harder than shorter tackles to keep his pads down and maintain balance. When he plays high, defenders can get underneath him and force him to catch power instead of stopping it early
- Recovery quickness is a question
THE FIT/PROJECTION
The best projection for Pete is as a developmental swing tackle with left-tackle experience and practice-squad value early in his career. His size, length, starting background and late improvement give him a real reason to be in an NFL camp, but he will need time with an offensive line coach to tighten his punch timing, improve his inside-out recovery, strengthen his anchor, and become more consistent generating movement in the run game.
For Dallas, that means he likely sees a ceiling of a practice squad position if he can flash enough, but his frame and size is intriguing. And for a UDFA, that’s a great start since that can’t be coached.
SUMMARY
Shiyazh Pete is a massive, long-levered developmental left tackle with legitimate blindside experience, but also with enough technical and athletic limitations to make him more of a free-agent projection than a plug-and-play starter. His frame is the foundation of his appeal as he looks like an NFL tackle, has played almost exclusively on the left side, and finished his college career with 45 games played and 42 starts between New Mexico State and Kentucky.
His best traits are his length, experience and pass-protection upside. At New Mexico State, he played more than 1,800 snaps at left tackle and showed good movement skills, good feet to climb to the second level, enough mirror ability against speed rushers, and the burst to get quickly into his pass set. His best tape shows a tackle who can use his reach to widen rush tracks, cover up edge defenders, and survive on the edge when his set points are clean.
The run game is more mixed. Pete has the size to cover up defenders and the reach to seal angles, but he is not yet a consistent people-mover. He flashes torque and can move defensive ends, especially in a zone-heavy run scheme, but he needs to improve at creating movement in the run game. That is probably the biggest question for his NFL transition on whether he can convert his frame into functional displacement against stronger professional edge setters and power ends.
The technical concerns are clear. Pete can miss with his initial punch, overset against speed and open the inside counter lane. His height can work against him when rushers get into his chest or force him to play with high pads, and his lower-body balance will need to improve against NFL speed-to-power.
PRO COMPARISON
Bernhard Raimann
BTB OVERALL RANKING
N/A
CONSENSUS OVERALL RANKING
471st
