As a first-round draft pick in 2014, Zack Martin came to Dallas as a collegiate left tackle. But he was named the Cowboys’ starting right guard on the first day of his rookie OTAs. That positional conversion worked out well; Martin is now a five-time All-Pro, landed on the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team, and has seven Pro Bowl nods on his résumé.
Tyler Smith was also a first-round selection, just two months ago. A left tackle at Tulsa, he’s likely to start the upcoming season at left guard. But he’s keeping those outside skills sharp, too.
The Cowboys are hoping that by having Smith learn two jobs on one side of the ball, the promising rookie can double his value to the team and be a force on Dak Prescott’s blind side for years to come.
“It pays off that he’s playing on one side,” Martin said of the youngster’s early workload at both left guard and left tackle. “If you were playing left guard and then swinging over to right tackle, in my mind, that would be much harder than going from left tackle to left guard.
“Obviously, the protection stuff in space is different, but at least your footwork- in the run game, especially- is going to be the exact same at left tackle and left guard. It’ll be good for him to do both.”
Martin knows what he’s talking about. After making the initial jump from the left side once he got to the pros, he’s been the most dominant right guard in the sport. But in 2020, his seventh season, Martin was suddenly pressed into duty at right tackle for a couple games due to linemates’ injuries.
It may seem like a minor shift.
It is not.
Especially for a rookie who is also adjusting to the breakneck speed of NFL play and the exponentially increased athleticism of the opponents week in and week out.
“As a rookie, your head can swim a little bit because of different things that happen at guard, and then you kick out to tackle and it’s, ‘Oh, there’s a lot of space out there,’ but he’s done a nice job,” Martin also said of Smith, per ESPN. “The number one thing is he works hard and he’s eager to learn. We can work with that all day.”
The Cowboys may have to work with it sooner rather than later, if recent history is any indicator.
“The last couple years, we’ve had multiple games where guys have been shuffled around,” Martin reminded. “It just shows the value and the importance of being to play multiple positions.”
Which is how the team’s newest lineman, who just turned 21 in April, has found himself learning not only how to be a professional football player, but how to do it at two different positions for any given play call.
“What it’s all about right now is just learning to understand the playbook and understanding what you’re doing first,” Smith himself said. “When you understand, like, the schematics and what you’re trying to accomplish with the play, you’re able to move without hesitation… That’s the emphasis from [offensive line coaches] Coach [Jeff] Blasko and Coach [Joe] Philbin, just putting yourself in that great position before we even snap the ball.”
Martin acknowledged the challenges Smith shares with him, playing primarily at guard instead of tackle.
“It happens a lot quicker,” the Notre Dame grad explained. “Guys are on top of you a lot quicker, obviously, [with] a little bigger body. You’ve got to diagnose things quicker just because there’s not that space. But lucky for us, this is a great time of year for us to get those reps.”
Smith will- hopefully- be just a secondary option this season at left tackle, where eight-time pro Bowler Tyron Smith is still holding down the fort. But with an injury history and a 32nd birthday coming in December, the veteran- entering his twelfth year- knows that the Cowboys’ eventual succession plan for him is already in the room.
For now, though, a highly-touted rookie who’s impressed from the jump, is asking all the right questions, and is learning two sets of ropes at once will only raise the level of play across the entire offensive line, with the starting center position not exactly etched in stone and whispers of the front office perhaps considering a veteran free agent for extra depth.
Martin, for one, welcomes all of it.
“In my experience, competition brings the best out of people. I’m excited to see that unfold.”
If it unfolds the right way, it could go a long way in resurrecting the reputation of the Cowboys’ offensive line as the best in the business.
“We didn’t hold up our end of the bargain late in the year last year. We took that personally,” Martin said. “I think the offensive line sets the tone for our football team, and we’ve got to get back to that.”
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