The Dallas Cowboys selected Alabama guard Tyler Booker with the 12th overall pick of the NFL Draft. It was not the brand new shiny toy that many wanted, but it was definitely something that the team can use moving forward into a new era under head coach Brian Schottenheimer.

It is obvious that Booker is a starter on the offensive line right away. What is perhaps the most important element of it all is that the core of the group is (seemingly) set for the next half decade.

Consider the projected Dallas Cowboys offensive line:

• LT: Tyler Guyton (entering year 2)
• LG: Tyler Smith (entering year 4)
• C: Cooper Beebe (entering year 2)
• RG: Tyler Booker (rookie)
• RT: Terence Steele (entering year 6)

With all due respect, it feels fair to assume that 2025 could be the last year that Terence Steele is manning the right side of the Cowboys offensive line. Obviously anything can change, but it feels like a real possibility.

It stands to reason that Tyler Smith will have a new contract sooner or later, but the Cowboys don’t even have to worry about discussing extensions with anyone else until 2027 at the earliest.

In assessing any sort of impact from the Booker pick it is clearly that this is the foundation that this team is planning on rolling into the next frontier with. We are fresh off of Tyron Smith and Zack Martin holding retirement press conferences from The Star, and there is no question that when Dallas built their team upon them as cornerstones (Travis Frederick too) that they were able to do a lot of things, though hey did not accomplish, or come seriously close to the ultimate thing.

Over the last few months since Brian Schottenheimer became the team’s head coach we have wondered, speculated and pontificated as to what the team is going to look like on offense under him. He is the play-caller, after all.

There has been little to mine from as far as recent Schottenheimer offenses. The closest data set we have to examine that he oversaw was his group with the New York Jets almost 15 years ago.

Given how this team handles their head coach contracts we can assume that he will at least be around for the duration of his. In choosing the Tyler Booker side of the fork in the road over the offensive weapon, it is clear that this is a group that will be established in the trenches. And what’s more, there is still time to find those toys.

This was a smart and slow step forward for the team. That’s the most important impact of all.