The first edition of the Dallas Cowboys offensive line was relatively chalk from a starter’s perspective.
The Dallas Cowboys practiced on Thursday. A real and actual football practice, under the California sun in the cozy confines of Oxnard. Training camp is now officially underway which means we have things to draw conclusions from.
One of these things is the “starting” offensive line that Thursday churned out. To no one’s surprise, it was reported that the starting offensive line did not feature any of the team’s rookie draft picks.
Dallas Cowboys Starting Offensive Line on Thursday
LT: Chuma Edoga LG: Tyler Smith C: Brock Hoffman RG: Zack Martin RT: Terence Steele
Last year’s training camp opener did not feature Zack Martin while he was holding out, but he was present and accounted for this time around. Rookies Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe were both also there, but anyone expecting or hoping to see them line up with the proverbial ones may have to wait a bit.
You have to remember that this is literally Day 1 of training camp. While it stands to reason that one of or perhaps both Guyton and Beebe will start at some point, those things take time. Players have to develop and reach the NFL level, even the ones who are immensely talented.
There has not really been much question as to who would be the team’s swing tackle if/when Guyton takes over the left side, and with Chuma Edoga drawing the starting LT responsibilities on Thursday it seems he is in pole position for that job. Again, that would require Guyton to start in his own right.
This is probably the group that we see for the time being, perhaps up to the first preseason game, during practices. Maybe we see the Cowboys give Martin a veteran day off, but even then that would only really open up the door of opportunity for someone like T.J. Bass to step in.
As much as we want to see Guyton and Beebe get going, it is not a bad thing for Edoga and Hoffman to get important reps given how close they are (if they do not wind up starting) to playing important moments for this football team.
Thankfully both Edoga and Hoffman have experience starting games in the NFL, even if the latter’s is a bit on the smaller side. But it is only the beginning of training camp and while that is exciting it does not mean that we can skip certain steps. As it is often said this is a marathon and not a sprint.