Tyron Smith left the Dallas Cowboys a year ago but his absence is painfully felt at LT as the demands and expectations of the position change.
When Tyron Smith departed Dallas last offseason, many in and around the Cowboys organization felt it was about time. His health-related availability, coupled with his decline, made him a tough appraisal to make on the free agent market. It seemed turning the page and starting a rebuild up front was the prudent thing to do. The Cowboys would go on to draft high-risk, high-reward prospect Tyler Guyton to replace Smith at left tackle. As for Smith, he headed east, playing one more NFL season in New York with the Aaron Rodgers-led Jets.
By many standards, 2024 would turn out to be one of Smith’s worst seasons in the NFL. His PFF efficiency rating was bottom three for him, yielding 22 pressures in just 10 games. Things weren’t great in Dallas either with Guyton struggling not only to replace a legend, but to even get on the field. His behavior pushed him behind journeyman Chuma Edoga late in the season and cast doubt over his ability to one day become the cornerstone blindside protector Dallas needs him to be.
Oddly enough, Smith’s poor season with the Jets was still a pretty good season. It was far and away better than what anyone in Dallas was able to do and it showed replacing a legend is no simple task. The Cowboys paid Smith $115 million across his time in Dallas, but let him go instead of meeting the Jets’ offer in 2024. To some, Smith’s statistically down season was justification for turning the page. To scouting departments and coaching staffs Smith’s departure forced the Cowboys into a philosophical change that far too many fans and analysts irresponsibly glazed over.
Smith’s down season in 2024 wasn’t nearly as poor as some key stats painted it to be, and comparing Smith to many other NFL LTs is nothing more than an act of comparing apples to oranges. The differentiation is simple: Smith plays on an island more than other LTs. He’s a set-and-forget cornerstone piece.
Playing the most difficult position on the offensive line, under some of the most difficult circumstances of his position group, Smith had a shockingly solid season in 2024. Yes, he gave up more pressures than most at LT but he also played in isolation more than most. Guyton was tasked with far fewer isolation situations with the Cowboys last season.
Further widening the chasm between these apples and oranges is the time in pass protection spent each snap. Based on Pro Football Focus’ stat tracking, Cooper Rush and Dak Prescott were in the bottom 10 in time to throw (TTT), meaning pass protecters weren’t required to sustain blocks like most of the NFL’s top performing offenses are (e.g. Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson posted two of the highest TTT).
All of this goes to prove one OT cannot be cleanly compared to another OT because the demands of the job and circumstances of their situation are vastly different from one another. The Cowboys’ coaching staff wisely didn’t ask Guyton to be Smith last season because frankly, it probably would have been a disaster; or a bigger disaster than what actually happened, that is. And that’s a big reason why the offense looked so different in 2024 and why fixing pass protection is so important heading into 2025.
Smith is now retired and the countdown to Canton has begun. Let’s not forget about how special he was for the Cowboys over the years, and let’s not overlook how much the Dallas offense has been forced to change in his absence.
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