Center of Controversy: Tyler Biadasz Needs to Solidify Himself in 3rd Season

Tyler Biadasz just finished his first full year as the Cowboys’ starting center. While not the biggest issue on the offensive line, Biadasz has generally been more of a liability than a strength and presents another area of concern for Dallas this offseason.

Oh, how we miss the days of All-Pro Travis Frederick or even Andre Gurode. The Cowboys haven’t had to worry too much about the center position during the modern era; occasional obstacles to overcome but often having a stable presence in the middle of the offensive line.

Unfortunately, the two years removed from Frederick’s untimely retirement, Dallas has yet to find a permanent replacement. The jury is still out on Biadasz’ long-term worthiness for the role, but he’s at least done enough so far to merit further consideration.

One of the NFL’s worst-graded centers in 2020, Tyler improved to 18th among his peers last year according to Pro Football Focus. Even more cause for optimism; Biadasz made up for early-season struggles with strong play over the second half of the season to raise his overall grade.

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Even these improvements aren’t enough to anoint Biadasz for the future. Dallas could still get better at center and even without spending massive amounts in free agency or a high draft pick to do it.

In fact, many are linking the Cowboys to Iowa’s Tyler Linderbaum as a potential 1st-Round pick in 2022. What better way to truly replace Travis Frederick and reinvest in a dominant offensive line than bringing in the top center prospect in the class?

But with so many other major problem areas on the roster, and one of them right next door to Biadasz at left guard, Dallas has to be very judicious in its use of resources this offseason. Upgrading from Biadasz at a center is a luxury they may not be able to afford and trusting in his third-year development is likely their smartest play.

If Biadasz takes another step forward in 2022 then you have your center position adequately filled for just around a $1 million cap hit the next two seasons. That’s a huge win as the Cowboys look to replace Connor Williams at LG, figure out their big messes at WR and TE, and fill gaps on defense with numerous key free agents looming.

Expectations have been unreasonably high for Tyler since entering the NFL. Another Wisoconsin product like his predecessor and coming in on the heels of Frederick’s shocking early retirement, this 4th-Round rookie was starting by Week 5 and clearly outmatched at the time.

Even last year with some improvement, Biadasz was still the most-penalized center in the NFL and struggled against premiere DT talent. As much as people want him to be the next Travis Frederick, nothing about him going into the 2020 Draft said he was an elite prospect.

Still, that doesn’t mean Tyler Biadasz can’t be a serviceable starting center. With personal improvement in 2022 and a stronger player next to him at left guard, Biadasz could very well prove his adequacy and dependability for the future.

With only so much cap space and draft collateral to go around this offseason, the Dallas Cowboys will likely hope in Tyler to take that next step.