Back To Basics: Tyron Smith

In the continuing series of Back To Basics, I would like to take a closer look at USC OT Tyron Smith. Now I have Smith as my highest rated OT, followed by Gabe Carimi and Derek Sherrod. Earlier in one of my first Back To Basics posts, I really urged the importance of getting a RT in the draft or in free agency. Marc Columbo is done folks, he has not one, but two bad knees. Columbo is too old and banged up to even think about bringing back for another season, he has to go. And while we all love Columbo and his intensity, its time to move on. RT in my opinion is easily the biggest hole on this team. FS would be the other major hole that we have to fix as well. With the 9th pick we can get our choice of the best OT in the draft. Now opinions vary on who is actually the best OT in the draft, but for my money its Tyron Smith.

Now lets chill out on the trade down talk for this fan post. Trading down is hard to predict to start with. The Cowboys would have to find a trade partner that is willing to move up to the 9th spot, and that team would also have to be willing to pay the money of that slot to the player they select. Also trading down is a risky scenario, and I really don't want to trade down because if we trade down and we miss out on the player we were gunning for, or if there is a run on OT's and we miss out, I would be very upset. That right there could ruin our draft. So lets stay put at 9th overall and make a selection.

Tyron Smith

Smith was one of the country's highest rated offensive lineman coming out of high school and heavily recruited. As a true freshmen he was the backup to Charles Brown at left tackle. Then the next two seasons he started at right tackle for USC, and is entering the draft after two highly productive seasons for USC. Now if he went back to school and entered the 2012 NFL Draft, Smith would easily be the first offensive tackle selected. So in taking Smith 9th overall, your actually getting maybe a top three pick in 2012 right now. And I keep reading on how people are nervous at putting Smith at RT this season if we draft him. I guarantee if you put Tyron Smith at RT and start him right away that he will be a productive player for you. Yes he is going to have some growing pains, every rookie does. But I really think its insane to pass on Smith, who is the most talented offensive lineman in this draft. I have been reading a lot of people who say we shouldn't take Smith because it will take him 2 years to grow and develop. I am not so sure that he would be that bad his rookie season. You would be playing him at RT, a position he has played for the last two seasons. So he is at least familiar with that position. What a lot of scouts are worried about, is moving him to left tackle his rookie season. Now if we were doing that, then I would be concerned. I have no concerns about starting Tyron Smith at RT for us in 2011. Marc Columbo was god awful and Smith would be a major upgrade at that position. Whoever the Cowboys draft for RT will be the starter, unless we hit it big in free agency. So if we are going to draft a RT and start him, I want to take the best offensive tackle in the draft. The one with the most upside and natural physical talent out there is Tyron Smith.

So lets take a look at what the drafting services and scouts are saying about Smith in his scouting report. Wes Bunting mentions that Smith is a tall and athletic offensive lineman with a great long frame, and long arms. Bunting also mentions that he has a lot of growth potential in his lower half. Also it should be easy for him to add weight and bulk because of his age, only 20 years old. Is a gifted athlete off the edge with a good natural bend. Sits in his stance and uses his long arms at the point of attack. Is a patient puncher with heavy hands and has good footwork to slide his feet. Good technique when using his hands and clean footwork. Is a gifted athlete in the run game and can get out into space to use his athleticism. Plays with good leverage and uses his arms very well. Bunting mentions that he is truly a gifted athlete that's 20 years old. Not a finished product yet, and will need to workout on his lower body and add more to his frame. His flexibility, athleticism, frame and body control are all of his best positives. Bunting also says he can develop into a very good starting OT, whether its left or right tackle it will be the position Tyron Smith is more comfortable in.

This kids best trait is pass blocking, and that's why I think it would be important to get him. Also when I read over various scouting reports on Smith, they all say the same thing and that is Smith is a physical freak who can become a premier left tackle. This kids bread and butter is pass protection. And he happens to be pretty good in the run blocking department with his athleticism allowing him to reach the second level. Now the things he has to work on is getting in the weight room and getting more lower body strength and bulk. At 20 years old, your still young enough and developing so that shouldn't be too hard. In my opinion he should come into the combine at least 300 pounds. I think he is probably around 290 something right now. Now people have compared him to Charles Brown, the USC tackle selected by the Saints last year in the 2nd round. Charles Brown is nowhere near the talent Tyron Smith is. I compared both scouting reports from various websites. Every one I read states that Tyron Smith is a physical specimen that can become a premier left tackle in the NFL. Charles Brown has good scouting reports, but isn't the same caliber of athlete Smith is and doesn't have the upside Smith has. I also heard a comment about if Smith was so good then why didn't he beat out Charles Brown? Simple, because he didn't have to. After being a true freshman, USC input Smith at the RT position and he thrived there for USC.

Throughout the past few weeks, I keep hearing comments on here relating to a players size. I really believe sometimes people put too much stock into a prospects weight or size. Yes Smith is a little undersized right now, but if we drafted him and he came into the regular season around 305-310 pounds than I would be fine with that. Smith will develop his strength, he is going to get stronger with more time in our training facilities and with the help of our coaching staff. His technique will improve with NFL coaching as well. Smith has the most upside and talent than any other offensive tackle in the draft. When you get a chance at the best offensive tackle in the draft and our biggest hole is RT, then maybe we should seriously think about drafting Tyron Smith and plugging him in at RT. Even if we got good production from him this year, that would be a win. But when 2012 comes around, he is going to be 21 years old and weigh 310 pounds. If you could put up with a year of a rookie right tackle, and then you would have one of the premier prospects in the game on your offensive line.

My NFL Comparison: D'Brickashaw Ferguson 6'6 310

Now Ferguson was basically the same type of prospect coming into the 2006 NFL Draft. He was around 297 pounds his college season and began to start adding weight before the combine. That was the knock on Ferguson, that he was too small. He was the same type of prospect Smith was, athletic and a muscular build. See I really think people need to start looking into researching players and other similar situations, instead of saying Smith is too small. I think Tyron Smith, is the next D'Brickashaw Ferguson. And I think it would make a lot of sense to draft a offensive lineman of that caliber for the Cowboys.

I have been weighing the options for Dallas the past few months, and there are so many options. Really I don't know what to really do yet. You can choose from Robert Quinn, Von Miller, Prince Amukamara, Cameron Jordan, Brandon Harris, Tyron Smith, Gabe Carimi and Derek Sherrod. Dallas has many options to choose from this draft with the 9th overall selection. Regardless of who we select, I know we will get a great player and I will be happy either way. I am just starting to believe that if we take Tyron Smith, we got our bookend offensive lineman for the next ten to twelve years. The offensive line needs some work, I don't care how many stats and numbers you throw my way. The offensive line has been ignored for too long and now we are starting to get handcuffed to need. So if indeed we are handcuffed to need with the 9th pick, then take Tyron Smith. The kid is going to be a freak. And I understand the trade down theory, sure its great to get extra picks but that's a risky play. If we move down and miss out on the OT run or the players we were targeting are gone, man that would be a disaster. For my money, I would want to get quality over quantity. I want the best football players I can get.

Picking 9th overall should get us a great football player. Tyron Smith has the talent to become a great offensive tackle. If the kid stayed in school for his senior season and then entered the 2012 NFL Draft he would have been the clear cut #1 OT. He easily then could have been a top five pick, maybe in the top three. So if the Cowboys want to go out and get a offensive lineman in the first round, then this is the player the Cowboys should get. By selecting Smith we fix a major hole on this team. With the remaining draft picks you can play around and have a little more fun because you really fixed a major hole in the first round. We could still use a guard, so maybe you find a nice guard later in the draft. We could really use safety help, so in the 2nd round you could focus on safety there. It would be risky to rely on fixing our offensive line needs in the second round. Because every year there is a offensive line run that begins in the middle of the first round and it runs through the second round. Same thing in the second round there is a offensive line run, especially with high quality guards.

Well if we take a offensive lineman in the first round, then this is the guy I want. Please feel free to discuss below. Thanks for all your feedback and rec's. Next time I will start discussing 2nd round options for us, since I have discussed about every 1st round option there is. Alright folks thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed.

Tyron Smith vs Cal (via AloAloysius)