1st round pick: Tyler Smith, OT, Tulsa

[boozeman]

McGinn old angry scouting report:

5. TYLER SMITH, Tulsa (6-4 ½, 327, 5.04, 1-2): Another third-year sophomore. Started two of four games as a true freshman before redshirting. “Natural left tackle,” said one scout. ”This guy can pull and trap. Great technician. He can bend his knees and move his feet and slide. He was 21 on April 3. At the second level he was totally amazing. About as tough a guy as I saw. I don’t know how Tulsa got him. Only thing I didn’t like: he wants to hurt people. Sometimes when they do that, they get holding penalties (12 in 2021). He just smashes guys down and officials call a hold.” His high school in Fort Worth was small and fielded losing teams, reducing his exposure and college offers. “When you have the toughness he plays with and his makeup, there’s not an offensive line coach that would not want to work with him,” said a second scout. “He might have more upside than all these guys. You’re getting a really good athlete that can play guard or tackle. He’s long (34 arms). He’s a violent player. It’s hard for those guys to fail, but he has to clean up a lot of stuff from a fundamental standpoint. If you moved him to defense you’d be talking about a high-end nose tackle.” Made 21 starts at LT. Wonderlic of 30. “He’s a left tackle but I thought he was a long, long ways away,” said a third scout. “He’s just so out of control and so raw. Just sloppy. The big guy tries but the technique’s way off. He lunges, he’s top-heavy. I don’t see the top athletic ability that some others may see.”

 

[Simpleton]

I agree with the scout (and Smith's coach although he's obviously biased) that a few of the penalties were Tyron-esque and ticky-tack in that he kind of just threw a guy down so the officials assumed something illegal happened.

He has his fair share where he blatantly bearhugs guys but there were a few that seemed to be a function of him just overpowering a guy in a way that looked unnatural.

Anyway, he's a gamble but I definitely buy the argument that he could have as much upside as any OT in the draft. If he had stayed an extra year and cleaned up his technique a bit I wouldn't have been surprised if he went top 10 next year in what initially looks like a weak 1st round class of OL.

Worst case scenario you just keep him at LG and probably have a Kelechi Osemele type of player.

 

[boozeman]

Official website propaganda:

Tulsa HC Talks Penalties, Portal & More On T. Smith
May 02, 2022 at 02:00 PM

Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer / Senior Manager, Digital Media


FRISCO, Texas — Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery is biased, and doesn't try to hide it.

Watching one of his best players from last season get drafted in the first round by the Cowboys was a great moment for him personally, along with the school, which has now had just two first-round picks since 1977.

So when the narrative on Tyler Smith pivots from being drafted in the first round to the excessive holding penalties he endured last year, Montgomery is quick to defend his player. In fact, the head coach said Smith's brute strength is what leads to many of those penalties.

"Nah, I think he'll be fine in that regard," Montgomery said of the penalties. "I will say this, and I'm a little biased so I'm going to throw this part in there ... Tyler plays so physical that at times, he got some penalties called against him that weren't penalties. (The refs) saw somebody on the ground and they were like, "well, something must have happened so I just threw a flag there.' He was that dominant and that physical of a guy."

Montgomery leads a Tulsa offense that is one of the fastest-paced teams in the country. He pointed out that while most guards in this draft average anywhere from 700-750 snaps in a season, Smith played 915, suggested that more reps will lead to a higher number of penalties.

But Montgomery did admit that Smith had some technique issues earlier in his career, that led to a few more holding calls. But he's adamant that if Smith sticks to his technique and relies on his strength, he can be a dominant player.

"His hands got wide (at times) ... once he gets his hands back inside and corrects some of those technical things, he can be a beast," Montgomery said. "Once he gets a hold of you, you're not going anywhere. He can be out of position, he is so damn strong that he can pull himself and you back into a position where he's back where he's needs to be."

Montgomery also talked about his conversations with Smith, who was debating whether to return to Tulsa or enter the draft. He also had some options to enter the transfer portal and go to other schools, including a few that are regularly contending for national championships.

"Yeah there were teams out there contacting him that were trying to get him to jump away from us," Montgomery said. "He and I visited about that, it came down to – he was either going to come back and play or take his shot in the league. I'll be honest, I was telling him to come back to school because I was telling him that he would be the No. 1 tackle taken in next year's draft. I truly believe that. Clean up some of the technical stuff and I think that's what he would do. But it went down to the wire."

Obviously, we know the decision Smith made. And now, he joins the Cowboys, perhaps as the starting left guard, but with a chance to eventually get back to tackle.

"I think, starting him off inside, getting some experience in there, it'll give them some immediate help," He said. "He's so strong so athletic, when he locks on people, it's done. But I think it gives him an opportunity to mature a little bit more. I think he'll slide out there to tackle and be one of the best there is."

 

[Sheik]

I still don't like the pick.

 

[boozeman]

I still don't like the pick.

If he can be a step up from Williams, I am okay with it.

I am not under the stupid illusion that he can be Smith's heir apparent.

If it happens great, if not and we get a functional LG for a first contract plus, I am okay.

It is not often you hear this much about a player's potential and attitude and the guy just lays a fucking egg.

It is the quiet ones you worry about. I feel okay, I am more worried about the coaching to be honest.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

If he can be a step up from Williams, I am okay with it.

I am not under the stupid illusion that he can be Smith's heir apparent.

If it happens great, if not and we get a functional LG for a first contract plus, I am okay.

It is not often you hear this much about a player's potential and attitude and the guy just lays a fucking egg.

It is the quiet ones you worry about. I feel okay, I am more worried about the coaching to be honest.

I feel good that he will be a better LG than Williams. Truth is if the guy is a probowl LG, do you really move him out to LT? Larry Allen was an elite LG who could play LT at an elite level too. But there he stayed at guard. We all know that Zach Martin can play OT too. But he is an elite of the elite guards. He isn't getting moved out to tackle.

So yeah if it works out like I think at LG, I'm not sure he ever moves out to LT. But I'd also be worried to play Smith at LT right now. I think he is too raw for that. Guard is going to be much easier for a power player like Smith.

 

[Simpleton]

I feel good that he will be a better LG than Williams. Truth is if the guy is a probowl LG, do you really move him out to LT? Larry Allen was an elite LG who could play LT at an elite level too. But there he stayed at guard. We all know that Zach Martin can play OT too. But he is an elite of the elite guards. He isn't getting moved out to tackle.

So yeah if it works out like I think at LG, I'm not sure he ever moves out to LT. But I'd also be worried to play Smith at LT right now. I think he is too raw for that. Guard is going to be much easier for a power player like Smith.

Martin never moved because we always had solid options at RT (Free then Collins, while we had drafted Williams to play LG) plus obviously Smith at LT. There were injuries of course here and there but there was never a prolonged period where we had a shit LT or RT for years, if there had been I bet Martin would've been moved.

If Smith turns into a Pro Bowl LG we might do everything we can to keep him there, but if we have shit at LT for 2 years in a row I bet you'll see him moved. This obviously assumes he shows he can handle it in practice, preseason and so forth.

It'll certainly be interesting to see what happens this year when Tyron inevitably misses his 2-4 games. Are they really going to move Ball or Waletzko out there?

It's hard to imagine considering how much experience Smith has playing LT and it's less of a projection and more a matter of how quickly can his technique be cleaned up.

And then does McGovern take over at LG? Or is it a darkhorse like Farniok or even Ball?

 

[Cowboysrock55]

It'll certainly be interesting to see what happens this year when Tyron inevitably misses his 2-4 games. Are they really going to move Ball or Waletzko out there?

I was actually thinking this as well. It's why I would have grabbed another guard. But I guess they really like Farniok. Sounds like they want to make him the game day center/guard combo they always love.

I didn't have high hopes for Farniok but who knows. Lineman can be developed and they aren't always the ones you think. If you told me Steele was the most improved player this time last year I would have told you that you were full of shit. And yet he looked good at RT.

 

[p1_]

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Yeah in terms of sheer power I think the only other guy in this draft who may have more is Icky. They are actually similar in a lot of ways. Both raw in technique but dominant in terms of power and run blocking ability. Both have high upside as pass blockers because of their feet and size but need technique work.

I can see why the Cowboys thought more highly of Smith than say Zion. His raw power and ability to move people is a million times better. Zion is more polished and you feel safe saying he will be a really good interior player in the NFL for a long time, but he isn't going to dominate people the way Tyler Smith can.

 

[Simpleton]

Yeah in terms of sheer power I think the only other guy in this draft who may have more is Icky. They are actually similar in a lot of ways. Both raw in technique but dominant in terms of power and run blocking ability. Both have high upside as pass blockers because of their feet and size but need technique work.

I can see why the Cowboys thought more highly of Smith than say Zion. His raw power and ability to move people is a million times better. Zion is more polished and you feel safe saying he will be a really good interior player in the NFL for a long time, but he isn't going to dominate people the way Tyler Smith can.

Yea and most of Smith's rawness comes in pass protection where hand use/timing/placement are more nuanced, particularly out on the edge.

Most of those deficiencies will be covered up playing inside and his dominance in the run game should start to shine through pretty early on in his career.

He'll probably have more than his fair share of penalties as a rookie but he'll also blow open some massive running lanes.

 

[p1_]

Yea and most of Smith's rawness comes in pass protection where hand use/timing/placement are more nuanced, particularly out on the edge.

Most of those deficiencies will be covered up playing inside and his dominance in the run game should start to shine through pretty early on in his career.

He'll probably have more than his fair share of penalties as a rookie but he'll also blow open some massive running lanes.

He’s gonna have to work on those hands, I see LT as a real possibility down the road.

 

[Cotton]

He’s gonna have to work on those hands, I see LT as a real possibility down the road.

Let's see how good he actually plays at this level before we project that confidently.

 

[Simpleton]

He’s gonna have to work on those hands, I see LT as a real possibility down the road.

For sure if he develops the technique, if not he can just stick on the inside and win with pure brute power/size/length and only average technique.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

For sure if he develops the technique, if not he can just stick on the inside and win with pure brute power/size/length and only average technique.

Yeah I would love him to be the next Tyron for us. But he is way more raw starting out than Tyron was. If he never develops enough to be a LT, I think his skillset will lend itself to being a really high end guard regardless.

 

[p1_]

Let's see how good he actually plays at this level before we project that confidently.

Agreed. I think we’ll get a good idea soon enough. Plus, I have no idea who will plug in For an injured Tyron when that happens again.

 

[boozeman]

 

[p1_]

 

[p1_]

 

[Cowboysrock55]

The guy loves to bury people. I kind of buy that some of that led to holding calls. When a defender is thrown to the ground there is just an assumption by refs that it's holding and not a pancake block.