I went into this article with one thought: Is Terence Steele the worst right tackle in the NFL?
I thought I had a pretty good answer to that question before I started digging. Terence Steele has taken plenty of slack for his pass protection, and Cowboys fans don’t need much convincing that the right side of the offensive line is a problem.
But I wanted to see what happened when we stopped comparing him to every tackle who qualified for a grade through PFF and put him against the guys actually doing the job.
So I went through all 32 teams, found the primary right tackle from 2025 and compared them and the answer was exactly what I expected.
Terence Steele Isn’t the Worst and Is Far From the Best
As a complete right tackle, we can take some solace that Terence Steele wasn’t at the bottom.
He finished 22nd overall in our 32-man comparison with a 63.6 PFF grade. His 70.2 run-blocking grade ranked 16th, which puts him middle of the pack, but that part isn’t the problem.
The pass protection is. Steele’s 54.9 pass-blocking grade ranked 30th out of 32 primary right tackles. Only Arizona’s Jonah Williams at 53.5 and Cleveland’s KT Leveston at 43.3 finished below him.
Steele allowed 52 pressures, six sacks, and nine quarterback hits in 2025.
I’m not expecting Terence Steele to be Penei Sewell, but when your starting right tackle is sitting two spots from the bottom for pass blocking, we need to start worrying about Dak Prescott standing behind him.
Terence Steele’s Run Blocking Keeps This From Being Worse
Here is where we can take some solace in the enigma known as Terence Steele.
He can still block the run game, and he stays on the field. Steele has started 51 consecutive regular-season games since returning from the ACL injury he suffered in 2022. On an offensive line that has had some turnover, that should matter for something.
However, it doesn’t erase what happens when Dallas throws the ball.
Terence Steele’s 52 pressures were the most by anyone out of the 32 right tackles. Does him having more pass blocks than anyone else inflate this number? Perhaps, but that many pressures should not happen even if you are out there for 722 pass-blocking snaps.
Even after accounting for everything, it’s still bad.
His pressure rate came out at about 7.2%, fifth-worst out of the primary right tackles. So, I don’t think I can say this is Terence Steele getting punished for playing more snaps than anyone else because he still had one of the worst rates in the NFL.
Dallas Has to Get More Out of the Right Side
If we were to judge him off the complete picture at right tackle, there were worse players in 2025. Ten of the starting right tackles finished with a lower overall grade, and Steele’s run-blocking was better than half the group.
So, I can’t call him the worst, but once I get to the passing numbers, there’s not much to defend. 30th out of 32 in pass-blocking grade, most pressures allowed, and bottom five in pressure rate.
I’ll give him credit for being available, but I’m not going to pretend that makes those pass-protection numbers look better.
Yet, somehow Dallas still seems to be comfortable with Terence Steele holding down the right side going into 2026. Maybe he cleans some stuff up, but after hearing about the LA Rams scrimmage I wouldn’t bet on it.
The only thing I can think of is that he gives enough in the run game to overlook the pass-blocking, but I really don’t know.
What I do know is Dallas can’t keep getting this kind of pass protection from the right side and act like it’s OK.
Terence Steele isn’t the worst right tackle in the NFL, but when Dak Prescott drops back to pass, he’s a whole lot closer to the bottom than he is to the top.
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