In just a few days, the Tyler Guyton and the Dallas Cowboys will take on the Cleveland Browns for their season opener. The Browns are slightly favored over the Cowboys by a couple of points, and that’s because of the defensive front in Cleveland.
So can rookie Guyton stack up against one of the best defenses in the country?
Tyler Guyton Expectations: How Will He Match Up?
In The Hot Seat in His Very First Game
The first-round pick has his work cut out for him. Likely to start based on the Dallas Cowboys unofficial depth chart and injury to fellow OT Chuma Edoga, Guyton has tough shoes to fill.
The previous, All-Pro left tackle, Tyron Smith, moved on to play for the New York Jets. Trying to step into such a big shadow might be tough for the rookie, so there will be a lot that Guyton has to accomplish in a very short period of time.
Now, the temperature has turned up that much more, with his first real challenge being in his first NFL game ever. The name of that challenge? Myles Garrett.
Tyler Guyton vs. Myles Garrett
Guyton is a unique player. He got his athletic start in basketball, where he played center. In basketball, his 6’ 7”, 322 lbs frame was big, but in football, it’s massive. Garrett in comparison, stands 6’ 4”. However, Garrett is much smaller weight-wise, and therefore quicker, than Guyton is.
Because of this, it’s unrealistic to expect Guyton to completely shut out Garrett. If anything, the goal is just to hold him off so that Dak Prescott has time to get rid of the ball. Guyton being able to do just that can create plays for the rest of the team.
Not only did Myles Garrett win Defensive Player of the Year in 2023, he also led the league in sacks, an astounding 14 of them. This is after two years of getting 16 sacks a season.
Garrett will break through the line. Guyton will miss some pick ups or his hands will be off and Garrett will slip through to make the play. The goal isn’t for it not to happen.
The goal is for it not to happen so much that the offense can’t get going.
Offensive Line Run Creation
With the previous set-up, the offensive line failed to create plays for the run game. This led to plenty of halted runs lost at the line of scrimmage.
Another one of Guyton’s jobs is to make a way for that line to create plays and holes in the defense. Again, that isn’t going to be easy with a player like Garrett trying to knock him back every single play, but it’s got to happen.
In this game specifically, with such a strong defense, the goal probably isn’t to create the most phenomenal running game we’ve seen from the Cowboys. What would be better is to create plays when it matters the most. On third and short and at the goal line, that’s when it’ll mean more to pick up a couple of yards.
And a big part of Guyton’s job is to try to make that happen.
Guyton’s Expectations Must Be Reasonable
Yes, Guyton is playing an elite level of football in the NFL, however, it’s not realistic to expect a rookie to have the game of his life in his first game ever.
Instead, the expectation is to watch him show up and see what he can do. If Guyton struggles, that’s okay, because he’s a rookie. If he does better than anticipated, then that’s a nod to him and his skills.
The pressure is on with just a few days left to see what he makes of himself.
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Main Photo Credit: Chris Jones-USA TODAY Sports
