Cowboys rookie Tyler Guyton looks to fix penalty woes vs. Steelers, not using inexperience at LT as excuse

FRISCO, Texas — There have been some understandable concerns about various elements of the Cowboys‘ offense in 2024. Those are fair: Dallas has led the NFL in scoring offense (29.9 points per game) in 2023, but it has dropped out of the top 10 through the first four weeks of 2024 (24.3 points per game). 

However, the Cowboys pass protection isn’t one of the issues they are working through: Their 25.8% quarterback pressure rate allowed is the third best in the NFL. That’s impressive considering Dallas is starting two rookies in first-round pick left tackle Tyler Guyton and third-round pick center Cooper Beebe. 

Team owner and general manager Jerry Jones called his opening round selection of Guyton “a sexy pick for an offensive lineman because he has a lot of upside.” That has in large part to do with the developmental nature of Guyton. His NFL job of left tackle is the opposite of his job in college with the Oklahoma Sooners, where 13 of his 14 starts came at right tackle. His only collegiate start at left tackle was a 45-13 win against University of Texas El Paso in Oklahoma’s 2022 season opener. 

His inexperience at left tackle may be playing a role in his five accepted offensive penalties this season, which are tied for the third most in the NFL entering Week 5. Guyton also has two other holding penalties this season, one in Week 3 vs. the Ravens and one in Week 4 at the Giants.

“I think it’s all on me. I just have to get better,” Guyton said on Wednesday when asked if the position switch is a big reason for the infractions.   

Guyton’s holding call that was offset in Week 3 against Baltimore is his most ill-timed penalty of the season. With 12 seconds left in the first half, down 21-3, quarterback Dak Prescott uncorked a 33-yard deep ball to wide receiver CeeDee Lamb in the end zone, and his defender — Ravens 2024 first-round pick corner Nate Wiggins — was called for pass interference in the end zone. Dallas would have advanced downfield to have first-and-goal at the 1 with six seconds left following the conclusion of that play. Guyton’s penalty negated that opportunity, and the Cowboys settled for a 51-yard field goal by All-Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey, which cut the lead down to 21-6. 

This play led to Lamb getting upset on the sideline, yelling at both Prescott and nine-time Pro Bowl right guard Zack Martin in the aftermath. It also loomed large in a game Dallas stormed back to lose by just three points, 28-25.

“Just going back to the drawing board and doing what I need to do to make myself a better player,” Guyton said. “I aim for perfection.”  

Guyton accepted penalties this season

• Illegal block above of the waist in Week 1 at the Browns
• False start in Week 2 vs. the Saints
• Holding in Week 2 vs. the Saints
• Holding in Week 4 vs. the Giants
• Holding in Week 4 vs. the Giants

* Tied for the third-most accepted offensive penalties in the NFL this season

Guyton felt he played poorly in the team’s 33-17 Week 1 win against the Cleveland Browns and 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year edge rusher Myles Garrett despite allowing just one sack and two quarterback pressures. That encouraged Prescott at the time. 

“When you got a guy like that who has the standard and the expectations for himself, he didn’t play poorly,” Prescott said of Guyton entering Week 2. “[He] May not play to his expectations, and that’s awesome to hear. But it’s about just continuing to encourage him. There’s times that maybe he got edged, maybe Myles [Garrett] got his hands on me, or hit me a little bit after the play. Tyler almost apologized in the sense and [I said], ‘Hey bro, don’t worry about it the ball got out just move on the next play.’ So for me, it’s about just telling [him] continue to move on. He’s growing in each rep. He understands that, and he’s going to be a hell of a player, especially if he keeps those expectations and is tough on himself like that.”

The 23-year-old Guyton certainly has had strong moments, but his 52.7 Pro Football Focus offensive grade ranks 66th out of 77 NFL offensive tackles this season.

“He’s doing some really good things,” Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said on Monday. “He really is. Again, he is playing left tackle in the NFL, young. What we’re really focusing on with him this week, we’ve talked about it, with all the young players: There’s a fundamental emphasis that has to happen. He is so talented, and he is so athletic, but he does get off balance at times. He oversets at times. So for him, a young player that missed a lot of training camp [with an illness], it’s really that intentionality. … For Tyler, it’s his feet and his hand usage. … If the hand gets outside and you’re grabbing a guy’s jersey, they’re going to call that. … It’s got nothing to do with talent. It’s got to do with his fundamentals and the intentionality of practice. I think he’s got to understand that you get a chance to go against good players in practice one-on-one and maximize those.”

Dallas Pro Bowl left guard Tyler Smith, who played left tackle in college and as a fill-in for when Tyron Smith suffered injuries, agreed with Schottenheimer’s assessment. 

“The biggest thing is improving your fundamentals,” Smith said. “Calls are going to get called whether they’re good or bad. It’s out of our hands. One thing we can control is our technique and fundamentals.”

What might that look like for the 6-foot-7 Guyton, who weighs 322 pounds? Hand placement, according to Smith. 

“He’s extremely athletic,” Smith said of Guyton. “Biggest thing is making sure your hands are in good places. That’s what the refs are looking for. They’re looking for your body an where your hands are and things like that. So we just got to make sure we’re on top of our technique.”

His teammates are doing what they can to keep Guyton’s head up just four games into his professional football career. 

“Just keep working on it, just keep working on it,” Cowboys running back and locker room leader Ezekiel Elliott said Thursday when asked about his advice for Guyton. “You put in all the work, just keep working on the fundamentals. You’re a rookie, it’s the first four games, you know what I mean? It sometimes takes a little longer than that to kind of get used to the speed. So, you know, just keep working on it.”  

“We’re four games in. I think we’re still building every single day, every play,” Guyton said. “I think we’re building towards something. I don’t think we’re at our best yet. We’re not. I feel like I need to do better. If I’m not at my best, then we’re not at our best. So I think we all have improvements to make.”

Life won’t get any easier for Guyton as he prepares to face a Pittsburgh Steelers pass rush in Week 5 that includes edge rusher T.J. Watt — the only player to lead the NFL in sacks three different times — six-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Cameron Hayward and edge rusher Alex Highsmith, whose 22.5 sacks since 2022 are the 13th most in the NFL. 

“Obviously T.J. Watt jumps off the tape at you, but Cam Heyward, it doesn’t slow down at all,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said on Thursday. … “It’s going to be a huge challenge to run our protection system against Pittsburgh. Let’s not forget about the other side [edge rusher Alex Highsmith]. Their edge pressure with a premier player inside [Hayward]. That’s three of the four guys, not diminishing the other inside players, but this is a challenge for any protection scheme.”

Guyton’s goal for October, his second month as an NFL player, is to correct all facets of his game. Dallas’ season may very well partially hinge on his development as Prescott’s blindside protector. 

“Just becoming a better football player and not hurting my team,” Guyton said. “Whatever that may be: penalties, sacks, pressures. I’m just trying to clean up everything as a whole.”