It was late December. The Cowboys were on their final push for the playoffs and on track to post yet another 12-win season. Injuries and depth issues put Dallas in a precarious position at OT. One starting tackle was rushed back from injury and clearly not playing up to his previous standard, while the other tackle position was manned by a player who probably should have been playing guard.
Coming off a game in which Terence Steele and Chuma Edoga accounted for nine pressures, five hurries, three hits and a sack, it’s understandable if it seems the situation above is describing the current state of affairs in Dallas. But it’s actually the 2022 season being described, illustrating the same predictable issues continue to plague the Cowboys year after year.
It was Spanish philosopher George Santayana who famously said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Because lessons that aren’t remembered, aren’t really lessons at all. The Cowboys appeared to learn a lesson the hard way in 2022. Issues on the offensive line caused their running game and pass protection to crater late in the season, ultimately dooming them in the playoffs.
It was a lesson they should have remembered as they entered the 2023 offseason. Tyron Smith was averaging just 5.6 games per season over the previous three seasons. Steele was recovering from a catastrophic knee injury, likely impacting his already suspect pass-protection ability in 2023. Tyler Biadasz was a year away from free agency and Zack Martin reached a point in which he could retire at any time. Even after keeping Smith another season and committing to Steele long-term, the need on the offensive line was apparent.
Whether it was an OG or OT depended on how the Cowboys viewed Tyler Smith. If he was still seen as the future LT in Dallas, then they needed to find a starting quality OG. If he was seen as dominant OG in the making, they need a starting quality OT. Regardless of specifics, they needed a starting quality player added to the mix because the chances were strong, they’d be leaning on that player at some point in the season and certainly need them long-term down the road.
In the 2022 NFL draft they clearly had it in mind. They came ever so close to making Matthew Bergeron their top pick instead of Mazi Smith. Seen primarily as a high-end OG prospect, Bergeron signaled the Cowboys still saw Tyler Smith as future LT. It also would have kept Tyler Smith cross-trained and ready to replace Tyron Smith when his inevitable absence arose.
The Cowboys again had a chance at drafting a starting-level offensive linemen in the second round with O’Cyrus Torrence. Torrence has logged 1,016 snaps for Buffalo this season and ranks fifth amongst his draft class in PFF grade. Bergeron has played 1,007 snaps and ranks third. Both players have proven to be immediate viable options.
Even with Tyron Smith’s sudden resurgence (has played 11 of 15 games in 2023), either player would have a significant impact on the Cowboys this season, given two of Smith’s missed games resulted in loses and featured some fairly abhorrent play at LT. Given offensive linemen tend to develop slowly, it would also set the Cowboys up better for 2024 when Tyron Smith and Zack Martin’s future in the league may fall into doubt.
But instead of truly investing in the offensive line, the Cowboys decided to tread water and kick the can on the offensive line. They added the aforementioned Edoga, hoping to tap something in the veteran his two teams before Dallas never could. And they drafted Asim Richards, hoping one of their many Day 3 picks on the offensive line over the years would finally bear fruit.
Cowboys seem to have overestimated their ability to replace Tyron Smith at LT and simultaneously underestimated the impact Steele’s knee injury.
Looking at all the offensive linemen across the league, Steele has allowed the third most pressures in 2023. The Cowboys can give him frequent help in his assignments but only if everyone else is playing at peak. But when Tyron Smith misses time, his replacement, who’s even more pressure-prone than Steele, needs all the help he can get. It’s a recipe for disaster the Cowboys should have seen coming.
Will the Cowboys finally learn from this pain and act on it like they should have last offseason? That’s a question to be revisited in the 2024 offseason.
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