Cowboys rookie OT Tyler Smith may get early beginning position
By David Helman
FOX Sports activities Dallas Cowboys Author
ARLINGTON, Texas — The final half hour of the highway journey at all times really feel just like the longest.
I’ve put loads of miles on my automotive through the years. In my expertise, most of these miles breeze by with out a lot as a second thought. Perhaps you discover a new podcast or an audio e-book. It begins to really feel like time touring.
Nonetheless, I’m undecided I’ve ever endured a extra agonizing drive than the final half-hour on the best way again to Dallas, when it appears like that closing 30 miles of highway stretches into oblivion.
That’s the place we discover ourselves now. The preseason has ended, and roster cuts should be made by Tuesday. The comforts of standard season soccer are beckoning to us, like a pristine roadside toilet within the East Texas wilderness.
It’s a little bit of a mirage, although. Week 1 nonetheless sits greater than two weeks away. The NFL’s shortening of the preseason has offered us an additional week to agonize in regards to the video games to come back.
Within the Dallas Cowboys’ case, there’s lots to agonize over — from the upcoming roster cuts to the looming concern of the way to change Tyron Smith.
Let’s check out some guys who’re successful huge popping out of Dallas’ 27-26 preseason victory over Seattle on Friday evening.
Tyler Smith
The rookie from Tulsa may need performed his manner into the beginning lineup whereas he was sitting on the bench.
Smith is nursing an ankle damage and didn’t play within the preseason finale, however the drumbeat is getting louder that the No. 24 general choose goes to get the primary crack at filling the open left sort out job.
Cowboys chief working officer Stephen Jones stopped to talk with reporters exterior the locker room Friday evening. Formally, he stated a choice hasn’t been made about addressing that position — however he gave a really heavy-handed trace, acknowledging Tyler Smith was drafted with the intention of finally taking part in left sort out.
“The excellent news is we addressed it within the draft,” Jones stated. “And from the get-go, we stated he’s our future left sort out. So simply could be the future perhaps earlier than later.”
Jones additionally made the attention brow-raising comparability of likening Tyler Smith to Dak Prescott, who stepped into the same state of affairs in 2016 and guided the Cowboys to a 13-3 report when Tony Romo was sidelined by a again damage.
“Not in contrast to for Dak 5 years in the past, six years in the past, no matter it was,” Jones stated. “He needed to step up when Tony acquired harm. We didn’t go get a veteran quarterback.”
Stepping in to play left sort out won’t be as tough for a rookie as taking up at quarterback — however nonetheless, no strain, dude. Prescott received NFL Offensive Rookie of the 12 months, guiding the Cowboys to one in all their finest seasons in fashionable reminiscence.
Smith doesn’t must carry house any {hardware}, however he’ll want a equally profitable rookie season so as to stabilize the Dallas offensive line.
Peyton Hendershot
Of all of the 1000’s of phrases written in regards to the Cowboys’ coaching camp on this house, few if any have been devoted to undrafted rookie tight finish Peyton Hendershot.
Which may have been an oversight, given the ultimate impression Hendershot was in a position to go away us with towards Seattle. He led all Cowboys receivers with 39 yards on three catches, and the spotlight of his evening was a 14-yard catch-and-run landing that noticed him drag a number of tacklers with him into the top zone. The rating helped give the Cowboys the game-winning level.
Even higher, Hendershot scored the landing whereas carrying fellow rookie Jake Ferguson’s helmet, after his chin strap broke throughout a violent hit earlier within the possession.
The timing couldn’t have been higher for Hendershot. Dalton Schultz and Ferguson are locks to make the roster, however the numbers at tight finish aren’t nice past that. Jeremy Sprinkle was waived with an Achilles damage this week, and Sean McKeon has been held out by a knee concern.
Hendershot is wholesome, and he clearly has some juice. That simply may be sufficient to land him a spot on the ultimate roster.
Matt Waletzko
Earlier this month, most would have advised you the rookie offensive sort out was doubtless headed for injured reserve. Waletzko injured his shoulder through the first week of coaching camp and missed the remainder of the Cowboys’ practices on the West Coast.
Waletzko, the fifth-round pick of North Dakota, first dislocated his shoulder joint again in faculty, however he re-aggravated the issue throughout follow.
Quick ahead to Friday evening, and he was suited up taking part in within the second half towards the Seahawks.
“He’s wired the best manner,” Jones stated. “I believe he understands the sport. I don’t assume it’s too huge for him.”
The break day helped with the damage, although the expectation is Waletzko will finally want surgical procedure. The hope is he can play by the difficulty this season, with a watch on fixing it early subsequent yr. Although Jones acknowledged it’s a tough state of affairs to foretell.
“Clearly, if that had been to come back out once more, it’s in all probability slightly extra problematic — not problematic, simply have to repair it,” he stated.
In the interim, it’s a bit of fine information that the Cowboys may need one in all their extra essential depth items again within the fold.
DaRon Bland
It shouldn’t be a shock to see Bland’s title for those who’ve been following alongside this month. The rookie out of Fresno State has impressed at each flip this preseason, and he continued that towards Seattle. It didn’t even matter that Bland was crushed on a 35-yard Seahawks landing move. He was in good place on that play, and he managed to complete with three move breakups on the evening.
With the video games all wrapped up, it’s truthful to say Bland has simply been the perfect of the Cowboys’ trio of younger corners, simply surpassing what we’ve seen from Kelvin Joseph and Nahshon Wright.
To be truthful to Wright, he did intercept Drew Lock. He additionally was flagged twice, together with a 32-yard defensive move interference penalty.
Joseph suffered a concussion on the primary sequence of the sport and was achieved for the day.
Bland is youthful than his two second-year counterparts, and he was additionally drafted a lot later. But when we’re going purely off what we’ve seen within the preseason, he ought to be the primary nook off the bench if one thing occurs to one of many Cowboys’ starters.
Brandon Smith
It’s untimely to say the second-year receiver snuck his manner onto the roster Friday evening. However on the very least, Smith put his finest foot ahead.
Of the group of younger, unheralded receivers working to make this workforce, Smith might be the one we’ve talked least about. However he let his play do the speaking on this case, as his toe-tapping landing catch within the third quarter was one of many highlights of the whole preseason.
The maths nonetheless isn’t favorable, although.
The Cowboys expect to maintain Michael Gallup on the energetic roster, regardless of his damage. Smith can also be competing towards different promising skills like Dennis Houston and Simi Fehoko — to not point out Hendershot.
Even when he doesn’t make the roster, although, it shouldn’t be a shock to see Smith wind up again on the Cowboys’ follow squad, the place he was a mainstay in 2021. And that’s assuming his stable preseason doesn’t put him on another person’s radar.
David Helman covers the Dallas Cowboys for FOX Sports activities, offering day by day perception and evaluation on the NFL’s most seen franchise. Previous to becoming a member of FOX, David spent 9 seasons masking the Cowboys for the workforce’s official web site, DallasCowboys.com. In 2018, he received a regional Emmy for his position in producing “Dak Prescott: A Household Reunion” in regards to the quarterback’s time at Mississippi State.
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