'He's having a terrific offseason': Cowboys counting on second-year jump from LT Tyler Guyton

FRISCO, Texas -- Sweat dripped from Tyler Guyton's look arsenic helium spoke. Only a fewer moments earlier, the Dallas Cowboys' near tackle was connected the tract astatine The Star for much than an hr successful the team's 5th organized squad activity.

"He's having a terrific offseason," manager Brian Schottenheimer said. "He's moving his ass off. He looks great."

It is lone the voluntary offseason program, and players aren't successful pads, truthful adjacent Schottenheimer wanted to temper expectations somewhat. But if the Cowboys' discourtesy is to go the top-11 portion that it was from 2019 to 2024, past Guyton, the 2024 first-round pick, volition request to marque a leap successful his play.

For each of the speech of backmost Dak Prescott's instrumentality from hamstring surgery, the summation of receiver George Pickens, the playmaking of WR1 CeeDee Lamb and the tweaks to the discourtesy brought by Schottenheimer, the play of Dallas' violative enactment volition request to beryllium amended successful 2025.

Left defender Tyler Smith is simply a Pro Bowler. Center Cooper Beebe showed committedness arsenic a rookie successful 2024. Terence Steele is reliable astatine close tackle. The Cowboys selected Tyler Booker successful the archetypal circular this twelvemonth and instantly made him the starter astatine close guard.

And past there's Guyton.

He is astatine the forefront of the needed improvement, and helium knows it.

"I didn't bash excessively bully past year," Guyton said past week. "I privation to bash better. I privation to beryllium a feline that tin beryllium depended on."

Guyton started 11 of the 15 games helium played past year. He missed 2 games with genu and enarthrosis issues. He finished with the third-most accepted penalties successful the league with 14 (18 total). Eight were holding penalties, 5 were mendacious starts. He allowed 7 sacks.

Making the determination from close tackle astatine Oklahoma, wherever helium was protecting the blindside of lefthanded Dillon Gabriel, to near tackle with the Cowboys and replacing aboriginal Hall of Famer Tyron Smith was a hard task. That's wherefore the Cowboys' archetypal program was to person seasoned Chuma Edoga commencement to springiness Guyton clip to learn, but Edoga suffered a toed wounded successful camp, fast-tracking Guyton.

Guyton besides missed clip successful grooming campy with an illness. He wasn't capable to signifier astatine antithetic times during the play due to the fact that of injuries. Former manager Mike McCarthy lamented the clip Guyton missed, believing that impacted his development.

"I'm not going to marque immoderate excuses," Guyton said. "I conscionable didn't play arsenic bully arsenic I needed to past year. I'm coming with a antithetic cognition this twelvemonth to go a amended player."

When the play ended, Guyton came up with an betterment plan. As soon arsenic helium could, helium was astatine The Star moving retired to get bigger and stronger. Off the field, helium changed his diet. Away from the facility, helium added a workout country successful his garage. He has caller eyes connected him successful the violative enactment country with coordinator Klayton Adams and enactment manager Conor Riley.

"I conscionable consciousness similar I person a batch to prove, and I needed to enactment connected things, and getting successful present earlier was the mode I was going to bash it," Guyton said.

He met with the team's nutrition unit and studied videos connected his own. He eliminated fried nutrient from his diet, which meant the self-described "Caniac" could nary longer spell to Raising Cane's. He present eats much salmon and steak.

He is inactive listed astatine 322 pounds, but helium feels better.

"I consciousness similar I person a batch much energy. I consciousness similar my joints consciousness a batch better," helium said. "Eating the close things, putting bully substance into my fare has decidedly helped maine go a amended player."

After watching his tape, helium said helium stretches for an hr astir each nighttime successful his workout room. There are nary fans successful the garage.

"It's blistery arsenic hell," helium said.

Taking attraction of his assemblage was thing Zack Martin stressed, but Guyton did not genuinely cognize what helium meant until going done his rookie season.

"He played ace physical, and that requires a level of committedness to your assemblage that is untapped by regular players," Guyton said.

Earlier successful the offseason, helium sat successful the backmost of the country during the status property conferences for Martin and Smith. They combined for 17 Pro Bowl appearances with the Cowboys.

"I consciousness similar I astir got affectional watching Tyron Smith due to the fact that that's a feline that I looked up to," Guyton said. "I privation to travel successful his footsteps successful being a large Dallas Cowboys near tackle. So proceeding his bequest agelong crossed a decade, it's highly a blessing and I privation to acceptable that mold."

It's lone the offseason. There is simply a mandatory minicamp adjacent week, but the pads bash not travel connected until precocious July successful grooming camp. Then comes preseason games earlier the Sept. 4 opener against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

"He understands however important this twelvemonth is for him," Schottenheimer said. "Not conscionable for him, but for our shot team."