The Dallas Cowboys have a number of question marks on their roster, but one area there is no reason for concern is in the trenches.
Dallas has future Hall of Famer Zack Martin and former first-round pick Tyler Smith, who has blossomed into one of the best at his position, as starting offensive guards.
The Martin and Smith duo has been so impressive, in fact, that Pro Football Focus ranks them as the top offensive guard duo in the NFL.
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“Martin over the past two seasons hasn’t been at his previous level of earning 90.0-plus PFF grades, but he has still been one of the top pass-blockers at the position. His 75.1 PFF pass-blocking grade in 2023 ranked 10th after he allowed just 24 quarterback pressures from 655 pass-blocking snaps,” Gordon McGuinness of PFF writes.
“Left guard Tyler Smith is ascending, coming off a season in which he ranked eighth among guards in PFF run-blocking grade (80.7).”
Throughout his NFL career, Martin has been a nine-time All-Pro and nine-time Pro Bowler. He was named to the NFL’s 2010 All-Decade Team.
In his 152 career starts, Martin has allowed only 16.5 sacks. Last season, Martin allowed four sacks in 908 snaps played.
Smith, meanwhile, is a two-time Pro Bowler and was a second-team All-Pro in 2023. He was the Cowboys’ first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Tulsa. Smith played primarily as a tackle in his rookie season but moved to a full-time guard in 2023 and proved why he was a first-round talent.
Because of the dominance of Martin and Smith in the trenches, the Cowboys should be able to make up for the lack of a star running back leading the backfield.
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