{"id":862408,"date":"2026-04-09T15:51:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:51:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/862408\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T15:51:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:51:22","slug":"the-cowboys-are-sending-a-message-ahead-of-the-2026-nfl-draft-that-has-potential-all-pro-implications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/862408\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cowboys are sending a message ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft that has potential All-Pro implications"},"content":{"rendered":"

Could the Dallas Cowboys draft yet another first-round offensive lineman come the 2026 NFL Draft? Their list of pre-draft visitors sends a very clear message. At least as of today.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Dec
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDec 21, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer reacts to a play against the Los Angeles Chargers during the second quarter at AT&T Stadium.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKevin Jairaj-Imagn Image<\/p>\n

After fielding one of the worst defenses in franchise history, not a lot of people expect the Dallas Cowboys to use their two first-round draft picks on offense. <\/p>\n

And while the NFL Draft is the epitome of the \u201cyou never know\u201d expression, so far, the Cowboys are strongly suggesting expectations are correct. A quick glance at their pre-draft visitors<\/a> makes it very clear they\u2019re focused on defense. <\/p>\n

Specifically, they seem to be ruling out one key position before the draft: Offensive tackle. <\/p>\n

No OTs in their pre-draft visits yet<\/p>\n

Keyword here is \u201cyet.\u201d Things could always change but we now know of 21 of their Top 30 visits (give or take a few that may have been Dallas Day visits, which don\u2019t count toward the 30-player limit). <\/p>\n

The Cowboys have mostly met with cornerbacks and edge rushers ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft, with eight corners on the list so far. These are needs we know exist on the team. <\/p>\n

But another position that could have been improved after a year of mediocre pass protection was offensive tackle. Notably, there are no offensive linemen on the Cowboys\u2019 Top 30 visits yet. Again, that could change with two weeks to go before the draft. <\/p>\n

But the message appears to be clear: They\u2019re betting on their offensive linemen. And that has major implications. <\/p>\n

Cowboys\u2019 seeming gamble at OL has All-Pro implications<\/p>\n

The right tackle situation is clear. The Cowboys and Terence Steele agreed to a reworked deal that featured a pay cut in exchange of guaranteed money. But the left tackle spot is muddier\u2014and it could even lead to an All-Pro changing positions. <\/p>\n

If you ask me, there\u2019s clearly a plan A and a plan B in place to protect Dak Prescott\u2019s blindside. <\/p>\n

Plan A starts with Tyler Guyton, who needs to take a big leap in Year 3 of his career. And the coaching staff isn\u2019t being shy about it. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big year for Tyler,\u201d head coach Brian Schottenheimer said last month<\/a>. \u201cGuyton\u2019s got a chance to be an elite player, but he\u2019s got to take that next step, and we have to help him get that next step.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schottenheimer added there\u2019s an action plan for Guyton to improve, including working on his footwork and hand usage. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing for him will be having a great, healthy offseason,\u201d Schottenheimer added. <\/p>\n

While the Cowboys head coach sees the upside on Guyton, that doesn\u2019t sound like a player who is guaranteed to start at left tackle. <\/p>\n

Enter the All-Pro implications: Surely, Plan B is all about All-Pro left guard Tyler Smith sliding outside to play tackle. <\/p>\n

Reading the tea leaves here, that would also explain the Cowboys\u2019 decision to use the second-round tender on backup lineman T.J. Bass, who has shown starting-caliber play at guard. If Smith leaves his post at guard, Bass would take over.<\/p>\n

All this uncertainty at the position should make offensive tackle a concern for the Cowboys. But right now, the message sent through their pre-draft visitors is clear. Defense is the only first-round concern they have. <\/p>\n

Surprises happen, but I\u2019m not expecting Dallas to draft a tackle, regardless of who is on the board when they go on the clock. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Feb\t\t<\/p>\n

Dallas Cowboys News<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDallas Cowboys have a lot of pre-draft meetings with cornerbacks but none may matter as much as the latest one\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The Dallas Cowboys finally met with first-round target Clemson CB Avieon Terrell. While they\u2019ve met with other first-round cornerbacks, no visit may have been as important as this one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Could the Dallas Cowboys draft yet another first-round offensive lineman come the 2026 NFL Draft? Their list of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":862409,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2066],"tags":[230,229,257,2461,7,6,4562,1498],"class_list":{"0":"post-862408","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-cowboys","8":"tag-cowboys","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dallas-cowboys","11":"tag-dallascowboys","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-tyler-guyton","15":"tag-tyler-smith"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116375552352891644","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=862408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/862409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}