Cowboys 2023 offseason position breakdown series: Interior offensive linemen

The Position Breakdown Series is taking every position group for the Dallas Cowboys and looking at the players, their rankings, contract numbers and predicting the upcoming season for each player.

This edition is looking at the guards and centers for Dallas, so let’s get straight to it.

OG1
Zack Martin #70
Age: 32
Experience: 10 years
College: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

2022 Stats:
Total Snaps: 1,364
Pass Block Snaps: 706
Run Block Snaps: 567
Sacks: 0
Pressures: 17
Penalties: 1

2023 Contract:
Cap Cost- $ 11,040,000 (4.8% Total Cap)
Dead Cap- $28,660,000
Base Salary- $1,700,000
Signing Bonus- $0

2023 Projection:
Tom - Wait, I have to say something about Zack? OK. He is still one of the best guards in the league. No, make possibly the best offensive lineman at any position, period. Although it is sometimes hard for guards, he fully deserves to be a first ballot Hall of Famer. Any questions?

Mike - The easiest player to review on the Cowboys roster is Martin. Since he’s stepped to the field for Dallas he’s proven to arguably be the best and most consistent player. He’s been so good at his job and so constant on the offensive line that people almost forget about him because he’s played mistake free for so long. The combination of him and Steele last year on the right side of line proved to be a dominating force in the run game, and when Steele returns let’s hope that level of play reconvenes.

Photo by Courtney Culbreath/Getty Images

OG2
Tyler Smith #73
Age: 22
Experience: 2 years
College: Tulsa Golden Hurricane

2022 Stats:
Total Snaps: 1,274
Pass Block Snaps: 701
Run Block Snaps: 573
Sacks: 6
Pressures: 40
Penalties: 15

2023 Contract:
Cap Cost- $3,042,982 (1.3% Total Cap)
Dead Cap- $10,954,736
Base Salary- $1,313,996
Signing Bonus- $1,792,386

2023 Projection:
Tom - I think Smith will be fine at left guard. After a very successful debut season playing LT, there is no reason to think he will not do just as well when moved inside, where the team had planned to play him last year.

And I think that is irrelevant, because I think circumstances are going to dictate that he plays most, if not all, games at tackle again. “Circumstances” in this case refers to the health of both Tyron Smith and Terence Steele. I understand the whole “best five linemen” theory, but I have almost zero confidence that will hold up at all. I don’t want it to be that way, but then who wanted the constant shuffling and rotation last season caused by injuries?

Mike - Tyler Smith is tricky to predict whether he plays guard or tackle due to the question marks surrounding the other positions. He’s a much better player at left tackle than left guard, but if Steele is ready to play right tackle for Week 1 then one of the line options would be for Tyron Smith to play at left tackle and push Tyler Smith back to guard. That creates the teams best starting five on the line. We all know the issue is with Tyron Smith staying on the field, so it could be the coaches plan to play the starting five that way until Tyron Smith has to take a timeout. Either way, this shows how elite Tyler Smith is and he can be expected to play either guard or tackle and be able to perform that way at a high level. Staying at one position would be much better for his development rather than having bounce between spots. If can stay in one position this year I can see his sack and pressure totals going down.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images

OG3
Matt Farniok #68
Age: 25
Experience: 3 years
College: Nebraska Cornhuskers

2022 Stats:
Total Snaps: 218
Pass Block Snaps: 112
Run Block Snaps: 76
Sacks: 0
Pressures: 13
Penalties: 1

2023 Contract:
Cap Cost- $965,675 (0.4% Total Cap)
Dead Cap- $51,350
Base Salary- $940,000
Signing Bonus- $25,675

2023 Projection:
Tom - Farniok seems to have a ceiling of “backup.” Maybe I’m wrong. The coaching staff was unable to turn to him when they were going through the turmoil last year, injury played a role on that. I kind of expect he makes the roster, and hope he doesn’t have to play much.

Mike - Depending what you read and what you believe, it could be Farniok taking starting reps at left guard this year. More realistically, I think he wins a swing-guard role this season and will continue to learn and work on better technique as a blocker. What’s really missing for Farniok at this stage is game experience and playing time.

OG4
Chuma Edoga #71
Age: 26
Experience: 5 years
College: USC Trojans

2022 Stats:
Total Snaps: 60
Pass Block Snaps: 26
Run Block Snaps: 29
Sacks: 0
Pressures: 1
Penalties: 1

2023 Contract:
Cap Cost- $1,092,500 (0.4% Total Cap)
Dead Cap- $1,092,500
Base Salary- $1,080,000
Signing Bonus- $152,500

2023 Projection:
Tom - Who knows? I don’t mean that derisively. Edoga just has so little experience. He seems to have some good tools, but has not really been able to demonstrate them so far. He is a bit of a tabla rasa and we are just going to have to see what comes out of training camp with him.

Mike - This was a smart move to make before the draft in my opinion, he helped the cover the position for insurance. Edoga has had some bad luck with injuries dating all the way back to his college days. But if he can stay healthy he’s not a bad blocker. If he becomes the teams best backup guard that wouldn’t surprise me, but based on his history it would be smart for the team to protect themselves with Edoga if they do keep him on the final 53-man roster.

C1
Tyler Biadasz #63
Age: 25
Experience: 4 years
College: Wisconsin Badgers

2022 Stats:
Total Snaps: 1,285
Pass Block Snaps: 653
Run Block Snaps: 542
Sacks: 1
Pressures: 23
Penalties: 5

2023 Contract:
Cap Cost- $2,866,600 (1.2% Total Cap)
Dead Cap- $123,600
Base Salary- $2,743,000
Signing Bonus- $123,600

2023 Projection:
Tom - I’ve been a Biadasz booster since he was drafted, and he very quietly has become one of the most dependable centers in the league. He has his eyes on being the best in the league, and his selection to the Pro Bowl last year is a hint he may be on his way there. Like Martin, there is nothing to worry about with him.

Mike - Biadasz has actually be quietly improving every year. With center, it’s more the case of as long as you’re not hearing his name being called due to bad plays that means he must be doing well. That was exactly the case for Biadasz last year, and given how he improves each year, it can be expected that maybe people start talking about him more in terms of his positive play.

Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images

Additional Mentions:
Alec Lindstrom #65
Brock Hoffman #67
T.J Bass #66

Mike - Of all the guys on this list, I’m keeping an eye on T.J. Bass and how he keeps up with the rest of pack. He, more than likely, makes the practice squad but let’s see if he can sneak on the final roster to add depth at guard. The other two guys are pure center players, and I wonder how much roster room you can keep for a player this far down on the roster that offers little in versatility.

Tom - I think that Lindstrom has a crack at being the backup center, depending on how things shake out, and I will make no more comments even hinting about health. The others do seem camp body-ish.