Dallas Cowboys select Tulsa OT Tyler Smith with the 24th pick. Grade: C

With the 24th pick in the 2022 NFL draft, the Dallas Cowboys select Tulsa offensive tackle Tyler Smith.

GRADE: C.

I had Smith as my sixth-graded offensive tackle, and among players at this position still on the board, I would consider Central Michigan’s Bernhard Raimann and Washington State’s Abraham Lucas as better prospects. But if you want a pure power tackle, and you don’t want to take on Trevor Penning’s on-field baggage. Smith probably replaces La’El Collins on the right side for now. Whether he can replace Tyron Smith on the left side later? That’s a big question.

Height: 6’4 5/8″ (44th) Weight: 324 (82nd)
40-Yard Dash: 5.02 seconds (90th)
10-Yard Split: 1.71 seconds (90th)
Bench Press: N/A
Vertical Jump: 27.5 inches (45th)
Broad Jump: 105 inches (65th)
3-Cone Drill: 7.78 seconds (53rd)
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.65 seconds (67th)

Wingspan: 83 1/8 inches (85th)
Arm Length: 34 inches (65th)
Hand Size: 10 3/4 inches (92nd)

Bio: Smith was a first-team all-district and third-team all-state guard and tackle at North Crowley High School in Fort Worth, TX, and committed to Tulsa for a 2019 season that saw him in four games as a freshman. Smith expanded his snaps in 2020, but 2021 was the season in which he really got on the national map. He pitched a virtual shutout against Ohio State with no sacks or quarterback hits allowed, and he gave up just one quarterback hit against Cincinnati. He ended his collegiate career with Second-Team All-ACC honors.

The person Smith would most like to meet, dead or alive, per his school bio, is Hannibal Barca, the Carthaginian general considered to be one of the greatest military commanders in world history. That’s the first time we’ve typed that for a draft prospect.

Stat to Know: In Smith’s final four games — against Tulane, Temple, SMU, and Old Dominion in the Myrtle Beach Bowl — he allowed no sacks or quarterback pressures of any kind.

Strengths: Smith has a massive lower body, and when he’s set, good luck out-powering him. Even if you bend him back, he’s not going anywhere.

Smith can be vulnerable to defenders crossing his face, but defenders crossing his face also have to be wary of Smith recovering and dropping the hammer.

But his primary determinism is to out-leverage you, get you on your back, and end you over time. Smith had more pure cockroach blocks than any other tackle prospect I watched this year. Here, he also shows a great ability to position himself to put the edge-rusher where he wants the edge-rusher to go. This is how Smith sets the edge in both the run and pass games, and plays like this make me wonder if he’d be even better at guard.

Weaknesses: No matter how strong you are, if you’re not rooted and comfortable with your technique, an edge defender (even an edge defender you outweigh by 100 pounds) can knock you right on your ass. Smith needs to be more consistent with this to take optimal advantage of his natural strength.

Another example of this — Smith needs to get his feet under better control so that he can use his estimable tools to more consistently pass-protect as he’s able.

Conclusion: Smith was one of the most fascinating players to watch in this draft class, regardless of position. His height/weight profile and overall play style tend to scream, “Move him to guard,”, but his wingspan and ability to get things done in the passing game make that move more complicated. He is not an ideal side-to-side pass-blocker just yet, but if you put him in an offense where absolute power is the primary goal, and he can use shorter sets in the near term, I think he’ll be just fine outside. The main thing is to get his lower body cleaned up, and I imagine that will be Job One for his NFL coaching staff.

NFL Comparison: Dion Dawkins. Selected in the second round of the 2017 draft out of Temple, Dawkins has become an estimable power tackle who still needs help with short-area awareness and keeping his feet under him at times — this is where the sacks he allows come into focus. Some teams may have moved the 6-foot-5, 320-pound Dawkins to guard, but the Bills — who have a pass-heavy offense with a lot of quick game, despite Josh Allen’s ability to throw the ball over them mountains — have made it work. Smith could have a similar (mostly) positive effect.