This is an interesting topic that I have been seen floating around the internet over the last day or so.
I have seen a few articles about offensive guards, and different rankings and who is where, etc.
A couple had the Cowboys’ duo of Tyler Smith and Tyler Booker claiming the top spot, where others did not even have a mention of them on the list, and that was after Smith was ranked the top interior lineman in football by the ESPN rankings that dropped last week.
Still, to be the best duo, you need your sidekick to be able to hold his own, and that is where the people differ, I think. It is not about Smith, they want to see more from Tyler Booker.
Top Duo’s
Okay, so I am not sure where to even rank these guys, but I took a long look at some of these listed and thought I would drop my thoughts and give my honest take on where I think these guys sit in the rankings.
When it comes to the Cowboys, Smith is the league’s highest-paid guard, and for good reason.
The 2022 first-round pick has worked his way from offensive tackle prospect to elite guard with three consecutive Pro Bowls. His win rates of 72.1% in the running game and 95.2% in the passing game are quality but not elite numbers.
Just off the top of my head, the duo’s that I would rank ahead of the two Cowboys are Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson from the Bears.
Only 16 guards have ever made the NFL Hall Of Fame and Thuney is probably a lock at some point to make that 17. He is older, but still plays at an elite level, and as for Jackson, I don’t know much about him, but it seems like he is legit as well.
He played in all 17 games a year ago and only committed one holding penalty. I mean that is nearly perfect.
Honestly, the only other duo that I would not have an argument about is Chris Lindstrom and Matthew Bergeron from the Atlanta Falcons.
Lindstrom’s grade of 88.4 on Pro Football Focus ranked second among guards, while his 91.7 run-blocking mark topped the charts.
Like the Bears duo, I did not know a ton about Bergeron, but he has started all but two games in his career in all three years. That is the model of constancy. According to PFF, he posted a top-30 grade last year overall and his run blocking.
So those two are in my mind no doubt better duos, but the Cowboys have the best interior guard of them all in Smith, so the hammer falls down on the type of things Booker can continue to do.
– Seahawks: Grey Zabel
– Cowboys: Tyler Booker
– Browns: Elgton Jenkins
– Panthers: Robert Hunt
– Eagles: Landon Dickerson
– Steelers: Zach Frazier
– Bills: Connor McGovern
– Rams: Kevin Dotson
–
PFF rated Booker as the 16th highest-rated guard in the NFL and he was No. 7 in run-blocking with a grade of 76.8. There’s no denying that he was well-worth the 12th overall selection and can be an even better player with a full year in the NFL under his belt.
The Cowboys have a chance to be a really good offensive line if the tackles can figure it out, and that is the issue.
You might have the best guard duo and maybe the worst tackle duo. Tyler Guyton has all the raw talent in the world, but has way too many issues to clean up.
As for Steele, he got his contract after one really good year and has struggled since then. Shocker, right? The Cowboys pay a player after one above average year, and then they can’t figure out how to play the game of football.
Long summer to go still, so let’s see how all this plays out, but if I had to rank as of right now, the Cowboys probably sit with the third-best duo at guard in football with a chance to be the best depending on what Booker does, but everyone has their opinion and that is why you will see 10 different lists out there.
Was this helpful?
Comments