Dallas Cowboys 2024 first-round pick Tyler Guyton will have to battle to keep his starting gig.
Coach Brian Schottenheimer said Thursday that Guyton and Nathan Thomas are in a competition for the starting left tackle job. The coach noted that the club needs to see more reliability from Guyton, with health being a concern as well.
"Tyler's biggest thing is the consistency has not been there," Schottenheimer said, via the team’s official website. "Very talented, maybe one of the most athletic big men I've ever been around with his ability to kick slide, punch, move, run. But there's got to be more consistency, and that's been the challenge that he's been working extremely, extremely hard on."
Guyton, the No. 29 overall pick in '24, was immediately installed as the starting left tackle but struggled through ups and downs in his rookie campaign. His 2025 season was pockmarked by injury -- a knee issue in training camp and a high ankle sprain that forced him onto injured reserve to end his campaign early.
Schottenheimer said the Cowboys plan “to make (Guyton) earn it" and that the competition is "going to get the best out of Tyler Guyton and Nate Thomas."
Schottenheimer’s comments were clearly meant to challenge the 24-year-old Guyton; otherwise, the coach wouldn’t have needed to make a declaration at all. He’d just let the process play out. After two years of inconsistency, opening the potential for a switch is a warning to the former first-rounder.
Thomas, a 2024 seventh-rounder selected 204 picks after Guyton, started four games last season but struggled, leading the Cowboys to flip Pro Bowl left guard Tyler Smith out to tackle for the final four games. Dallas prefers to keep Smith at guard, which has led to competition at LT. However, if things go awry, Schotty could elect to revisit the issue. Instability on Dak Prescott’s blindside is a recipe for disaster.
Guyton is simply taking a one-day-at-a-time approach.
"Same equation, come to work every day, try to get better, prepare myself for the next day," Guyton said. "There's competition everywhere on the team. It's a football team and everybody wants to play. Friendly competition isn't bad. It brings the best out of people."
The Cowboys are hoping it brings out the best in their former first-round pick; otherwise, they could face issues in 2026.