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As the clock counted down to the deadline for a decision to be made on the No. 12 overall pick, those assembled in the Cowboys' draft room found themselves thinking quite a bit about the defensive line rooms in New York, Washington, and Philadelphia.
"We're very aware of the challenges in our division in the center of the line," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in the team's post-draft press conference at the conclusion of Day 1. "It has everything to do with when you make somebody the highest-paid player in the NFL, you'd like to have something in front of him."
So in the end, the $240 million contract awarded to quarterback Dak Prescott last September also, in a way, helped trigger the decision seven months later to spend the club's first-round draft pick on an extra body to help protect him.
But it's far more than just the obvious and impressive physical traits that Alabama guard Tyler Booker brings that convinced the Dallas brass that he was the right hire for everything the offense wants to emphasize in 2025.
"When you sit down and you visit with this guy, he's an alpha. He knows what he wants, he knows how good he is, he knows how talented he is," explained head coach Brian Schottenheimer. "I think when you look at what you've got with Tyler Smith at left guard, Cooper Beebe [at center], and now you add this guy: the interior of your pocket, the core of your run game, all that stuff inside... We want to move people and we want to own the line of scrimmage and this is a guy that gives us a chance to do that with the pieces we have in place."
Those pieces have been largely moving parts in recent years, due to injuries and aging veterans. Tyron Smith left prior to last season. Zack Martin retired last month. That's a lot of All-Pro-caliber blocking to suddenly be without. So a changing of the guard- literally- was coming, no matter how the Cowboys picked Thursday night.
This guard, typically ranked best in this year's class, will certainly ease that transition.
"You lose a guy like Zack, you don't have to replace him," Schottenheimer noted, "but we felt like this is a guy that comes in, immediately fills a big void for us."
"Our grades [on Booker] are very similar with what we had to Zack," added Will McClay, the team's vice president of player personnel. "And then some of the character traits, there's a lot of things that are very similar. He's his own individual, but he's a grown-ass man, like Zack is. So you put someone in there that makes us a stronger, more physical team."
"He makes everybody around him better: better with the way he practices, the way he talks, his confidence," said Schottenheimer. "And as a coach, that gets you really excited."
The improvement Booker is expected to bring should be evident immediately, according to Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones.
"I can't imagine he doesn't walk in here Day One and start for us."
But if Booker is to take Martin's spot and be the Cowboys' right guard, he'll have a big adjustment to make. The 320-pounder primarily lined up on the left side in Tuscaloosa.
For his part, though, Schottenheimer isn't overly concerned.
"It's a little bit of a learning curve, but they can do it. All these guys cross-train at some point in their time at practice ... So the ability to move him around is something we don't have any concerns about. He's damn good football player," the coach explained. "At the end of the day, it's football. You go one way really, really fast, and if somebody gets in your way, you knock the [expletive] out of them."
Booker being able to make that kind of impact right away also factored into his selection, with the Cowboys front office very mindful of the ever-ticking clock and the notion that this iteration of the franchise cannot afford to start a long, drawn-out rebuild.
"With the makeup that we have on our team and the players we've got right now, this is a very good way to try to get something big-time done in the next two or three years," the elder Jones explained. "This makes a lot of sense."
Booker was chosen over several players at higher-profile positions- namely, wide receiver and running back. But Jerry pointed out that there are multiple facets to boosting offensive output.
If the team's $240 million man takes another season-ending hit, that hot-prospect wideout the Cowboys could have taken at No. 12 isn't saving the season.
"We need to play to our strengths. Dak's a strength," Jerry stated plainly. "So enhancing that makes all the sense in the world relative to comparing it to a receiver in the passing game."
Some of the surprise over Booker's selection may stem from the reinforcements at guard the team already had in place. Brock Hoffman stepped in when Martin was hurt last season. Cooper Beebe played guard in college and could easily slide over if needed. T.J. Bass has fans in the building, as does Asim Richards. Veterans Robert Jones, Saahdiq Charles, and Hakeem Adeniji are all new adds, too. Every one of them is either listed as a guard or can play the position.
Schottenheimer sees the stockpile as not just competition... but insurance, thinking once again about some of the big defensive tackles that populate the rest of the NFC East and make up six dates on the Cowboys' annual schedule.
"It's a physical, violent position that these guys play. You can never have enough," the coach told reporters Thursday night. "You don't know how bad you need the position until you don't have it. And the obvious thing that everybody's talked about: I mean, you're in a division with Jalen Carter and Dexter Lawrence and some really, really good football players. Those are matchups that we look forward to."
The Cowboys hope to look forward to them even more with Booker, their new alpha, anchoring their revamped offensive line.
Follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys draft Alabama OG Tyler Booker to 'own the line of scrimmage'
Continue reading...
"We're very aware of the challenges in our division in the center of the line," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in the team's post-draft press conference at the conclusion of Day 1. "It has everything to do with when you make somebody the highest-paid player in the NFL, you'd like to have something in front of him."
So in the end, the $240 million contract awarded to quarterback Dak Prescott last September also, in a way, helped trigger the decision seven months later to spend the club's first-round draft pick on an extra body to help protect him.
But it's far more than just the obvious and impressive physical traits that Alabama guard Tyler Booker brings that convinced the Dallas brass that he was the right hire for everything the offense wants to emphasize in 2025.
"When you sit down and you visit with this guy, he's an alpha. He knows what he wants, he knows how good he is, he knows how talented he is," explained head coach Brian Schottenheimer. "I think when you look at what you've got with Tyler Smith at left guard, Cooper Beebe [at center], and now you add this guy: the interior of your pocket, the core of your run game, all that stuff inside... We want to move people and we want to own the line of scrimmage and this is a guy that gives us a chance to do that with the pieces we have in place."
Those pieces have been largely moving parts in recent years, due to injuries and aging veterans. Tyron Smith left prior to last season. Zack Martin retired last month. That's a lot of All-Pro-caliber blocking to suddenly be without. So a changing of the guard- literally- was coming, no matter how the Cowboys picked Thursday night.
This guard, typically ranked best in this year's class, will certainly ease that transition.
"You lose a guy like Zack, you don't have to replace him," Schottenheimer noted, "but we felt like this is a guy that comes in, immediately fills a big void for us."
"Our grades [on Booker] are very similar with what we had to Zack," added Will McClay, the team's vice president of player personnel. "And then some of the character traits, there's a lot of things that are very similar. He's his own individual, but he's a grown-ass man, like Zack is. So you put someone in there that makes us a stronger, more physical team."
"He makes everybody around him better: better with the way he practices, the way he talks, his confidence," said Schottenheimer. "And as a coach, that gets you really excited."
The improvement Booker is expected to bring should be evident immediately, according to Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones.
"I can't imagine he doesn't walk in here Day One and start for us."
But if Booker is to take Martin's spot and be the Cowboys' right guard, he'll have a big adjustment to make. The 320-pounder primarily lined up on the left side in Tuscaloosa.
For his part, though, Schottenheimer isn't overly concerned.
"It's a little bit of a learning curve, but they can do it. All these guys cross-train at some point in their time at practice ... So the ability to move him around is something we don't have any concerns about. He's damn good football player," the coach explained. "At the end of the day, it's football. You go one way really, really fast, and if somebody gets in your way, you knock the [expletive] out of them."
Booker being able to make that kind of impact right away also factored into his selection, with the Cowboys front office very mindful of the ever-ticking clock and the notion that this iteration of the franchise cannot afford to start a long, drawn-out rebuild.
"With the makeup that we have on our team and the players we've got right now, this is a very good way to try to get something big-time done in the next two or three years," the elder Jones explained. "This makes a lot of sense."
Booker was chosen over several players at higher-profile positions- namely, wide receiver and running back. But Jerry pointed out that there are multiple facets to boosting offensive output.
If the team's $240 million man takes another season-ending hit, that hot-prospect wideout the Cowboys could have taken at No. 12 isn't saving the season.
"We need to play to our strengths. Dak's a strength," Jerry stated plainly. "So enhancing that makes all the sense in the world relative to comparing it to a receiver in the passing game."
Some of the surprise over Booker's selection may stem from the reinforcements at guard the team already had in place. Brock Hoffman stepped in when Martin was hurt last season. Cooper Beebe played guard in college and could easily slide over if needed. T.J. Bass has fans in the building, as does Asim Richards. Veterans Robert Jones, Saahdiq Charles, and Hakeem Adeniji are all new adds, too. Every one of them is either listed as a guard or can play the position.
Schottenheimer sees the stockpile as not just competition... but insurance, thinking once again about some of the big defensive tackles that populate the rest of the NFC East and make up six dates on the Cowboys' annual schedule.
"It's a physical, violent position that these guys play. You can never have enough," the coach told reporters Thursday night. "You don't know how bad you need the position until you don't have it. And the obvious thing that everybody's talked about: I mean, you're in a division with Jalen Carter and Dexter Lawrence and some really, really good football players. Those are matchups that we look forward to."
The Cowboys hope to look forward to them even more with Booker, their new alpha, anchoring their revamped offensive line.
Follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys draft Alabama OG Tyler Booker to 'own the line of scrimmage'
Continue reading...
