The Dallas Cowboys (and myself) are still reeling from the Wildcard loss to the Green Bay Packers two weeks ago.
I have personally been much less active online, and I refused to watch the Divisional round games because I was still so angry.
We can be as angry as we want to be, but the truth of the matter is the Cowboys are now in offseason mode.
The team being in offseason mode means we can start to look forward to the draft and free agency.
For today, I’d like to continue my series of grading the Cowboys team by position groups by discussing the interior offensive line.
If you’ve been following this series, you already know that we covered the quarterbacks, running backs, tight ends, wide receivers, and offensive tackles.
All grades are provided by Pro Football Focus Premium stats.
Players who did not play in at least 10 games are not included in the rankings.
Guards
The Dallas Cowboys were fortunate enough to have their starting guards Tyler Smith and Zack Martin healthy for 97% and 88% of the offensive snaps, respectively.
These are the only two players who I will grade at the guard position.
Tyler Smith
PFF Overall (NFL Rank): 72.9 (12th)
PFF Run Blocking (NFL Rank): 79.7 (8th)
PFF Pass Blocking (NFL Rank): 68.7 (19th)
I was one of the people who screamed at the television screen when the Cowboys selected Tyler Smith in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Boy, was I wrong, along with many others in Cowboys Nation.
Smith, in just the second season of his young career, earned 2nd-team All-Pro honors for his work at left guard.
His brute strength is what helped him rank as the 8th most efficient run blocker in the NFL at his position.
Smith was a little further down in the ranks in pass blocking grade, but still managed to finish 5th in efficiency.
He allowed just one sack, two QB hits, and 17 pressures on the season.
Grade: A
In just his second year, Smith can already be considered the Cowboys’ best offensive lineman.
He’s a mauler at the point of attack, and his pass set will just improve with time and more coaching.
Few defensive tackles in the NFL look forward to lining up across from him on game day and hopefully being the anchor at left guard for the next decade.
Zack Martin
PFF Overall (NFL Rank): 69.8 (18th)
PFF Run Blocking (NFL Rank): 64.3 (25th)
PFF Pass Blocking (NFL Rank): 77.2 (11th)
By Zack Martin’s standards, 2023 was a down year for him.
His grades don’t jump off of the screen, and it makes you wonder if name value only earned him his eighth 1st-team All-Pro award.
Still, even not at 100% of what we know he is capable of, Martin was one of the best interior offensive linemen in the league.
While Smith excelled in the run game, Martin was there to balance out the other side in pass blocking with a 97.6 grade.
Grade: B+
You’d think a player who was named 1st-team All-Pro would automatically grade as an A+ but think again.
As I mentioned above, Martin’s overall numbers don’t justify that award.
He’s still a very good player but he made some uncharacteristic mistakes that show his physical form is beginning to decline.
Martin gave up four sacks, seven QB hits, and 22 pressures protecting Dak Prescott.
Center
Another healthy offensive lineman, Tyler Biadasz was on offense for the Cowboys for 93% of the snaps in 2023.
Tyler Biadasz
PFF Overall (NFL Rank): 68.6 (13th)
PFF Run Blocking (NFL Rank): 68.1 (16th)
PFF Pass Blocking (NFL Rank): 63.4 (12th)
Cowboys’ C Tyler Biadasz was in 2023 what he has been since he was drafted in the 2020 draft, a middle-of-the-pack player.
Based on his grades, you can see he is just about in the middle of the 32 starting centers in the NFL.
In 1,028 snaps, Biadasz gave up three sacks, four QB hits, and 25 pressures.
Grade: B-
Biadasz gets a middling grade for a middling player.
His contract is expiring this offseason, and the Cowboys will have a decision to make on whether or not to bring him back.
I believe Biadasz has run his course here in Dallas, and will just be allowed to leave in free agency like his predecessor Connor Williams.
Dallas will address the center position in the draft, where there are a handful of interesting prospects this year.