Cowboys Lose Tyron Smith: What It Means for the Offense

During Wednesday's practice, Cowboys' left tackle Tyron Smith suffered an avulsion fracture of the knee, meaning the hamstring tendon that sits at the back of the knee pulled off the bone. He will require surgery, but if everything goes well, could return in December.

There's no great way to sugarcoat this news in the short term. I had Tyron Smith (31 years old), still one of the best tackles in the league, with a 3.75 grade (A run, B+ pass). Dallas ranked sixth with him in the lineup. He often misses time, and the Cowboys know better than anyone how good he is. They also know how fragile he's become in recent seasons, and the decision to let La'el Collins go to Cincinnati might be haunting them this morning. Without Smith, it's a drop, and how much of a drop depends on what they do next.

• Best case, they trade for Isaiah Wynn (or, less likely, Andre Dillard) and fall to 10-12th overall.
• If they sign an LT vet like Eric Fisher or Nate Solder, they fall to about 15th.
• If they sign an RT vet like Ty Nsekhe or Daryl Williams (moving Terence Steele back to LT, where he struggled last year), they fall to 18th.

The most likely option is the coaches try to cook a meal with current ingredients. Throwing rookie Tyler Smith (first-round, Tulsa), Aviante Collins, Josh Ball, or Matt Walezko into the lineup, the Cowboys line falls to 20th overall (or beyond). It's an 11-slot drop. That is where I put them in today's ratings. The team invested high draft capital into Tyler Smith, and he is the long-term Tyron Smith replacement. However, the rookie has been playing left guard, losing that battle to Connor McGovern. He has looked shaky, penalty prone, and missed the last few practices with a minor ankle injury. I suspect they will roll with the rookie, but the team does have cap space to make a move. The Wynn situation in New England bears observation. Rumors are flying that the Patriots are trying to trade him before the season, and Wynn would fit well in the Cowboys' running attack.

Other News

• Tampa Bay falls from 7th to 11th in light of the injury to LG Aaron Stinnie (ACL/MCL).
• Green Bay has activated LT David Bakhtiari from the PUP list. He's still working in individuals, but all signs appear to point to Bakhtiari being ready for the season opener. With him (and RT Elgton Jenkins) back in the lineup, they skyrocket to third in the rankings.
• Cincinnati falls a few in cohesion due to rookie Cordell Volson (fourth-round, North Dakota State) taking over for Jackson Carman at LG. This is a short-term setback in the rankings but probably good news for the Bengals' line overall. The Bengals have replaced four of their five starters from last season, leaving only LT Jonah Williams as the holdover.

Full Rankings

The below chart is accurate as of press time. Here are the up-to-date Offensive Line Rankings.