Dallas Cowboys drafting Tyler Booker at No. 12 may not be sexy, but it’s ‘safe’
Earlier this month, at The Star in Frisco, the Dallas Cowboys said goodbye to one of their most well-respected franchise players in team history in a retirement press conference for eight-time Pro Bowler Tyron Smith.
As Jerry Jones, Stephen Jones and Smith all reminisced on his Hall of Fame-worthy career, Jerry mentioned something that resonates over a week later in the same building.
It had been 30 years since Dallas had taken an offensive lineman in the first round, and head coach Jason Garrett was determined to end that streak with the drafting of Smith. Not only did he get his wish, it panned out better than even the biggest optimist couldn’t foresee.
“It changed our way of thinking about taking that first-round pick and using it on an offensive lineman,” Jerry Jones said. “He did that.”
Fourteen years later, the Cowboys have now taken six offensive linemen in the first round during that span with the 2025 No. 12 overall selection being Alabama guard Tyler Booker on Thursday night, joining Smith, Zack Martin, Travis Frederick, Tyler Smith and Tyler Guyton.
While numerous respected insiders and draft analysts pinned a wide receiver or a running back to Dallas with the No. 12 pick leading up to the draft, the Cowboys went right back to the well that has kept them hydrated over the course of the last decade-and-a-half in grabbing an offensive lineman.
It was far from sexy, and it’s tough to say the Cowboys have made a splashy first-round pick since 2021 when they took Micah Parsons, but it was what Jerry Jones said the entire draft room described as “safe”.
“Our guys used the word ‘safe’ as a pick,” Jones said. “I bet I heard it 20 times talking about ‘safe.’ The word ‘safe’ in having an offensive line is so important, because when you have inconsistent reliability, the word ‘safe’ is a big deal.”
As a two-year starter at Alabama and a team leader for one of the nation’s finest college football programs, the scouting department evaluated Booker with a high grade coming into the draft process. Eventually, the coaching staff and front office felt the same way.
“We were thrilled about the power, the strength,” head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “When you visit with this guy, he’s an alpha. He knows how talented he is. Having Tyler Smith at left guard, Cooper Beebe at center and now this guy, the core of our interior, we’re going to move people.”
“That is a staple of the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys having a great offensive line,” Booker said. “I’m excited to continue to further that tradition, just like Alabama was known for having a great offensive line. I furthered that tradition there. I’m excited to go in and learn and do everything in my power to continue to further that tradition in Dallas.
Furthermore, the safety really boils down to protecting the team’s largest-ever investment in quarterback Dak Prescott. Still holding the richest annual value contract in NFL history at $60 million per season, Prescott is coming off a torn hamstring that saw him miss the back-half of the 2024 season. Moving forward, the Cowboys are being intentional about keeping their investment protected.
“When you make someone the highest-paid player in the NFL, you’d like to have something in front of him,” Jones said. “We are interested in making sure we have the protection.”
While a wide receiver like Texas’ Matthew Golden or a running back like North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton would have certainly been splash, impact players that Dallas could have weaponized in year one under Schottenheimer, the thought process behind Booker makes sense too. As a player that most teams graded high in the draft process, the former Alabama team captain has the potential to provide the protection for Prescott’s future and beyond.
Yes, it’s not sexy. But in this instance, Jerry Jones is right. It is safe.
Where does that leave them going into day two of the draft? The need for offensive playmakers continues to flash as dire. Whether the Cowbous pigeon-hole themselves into a situation to reach at running back or receiver later in the draft will wait to be seen, and only then can hindsight provide the best context to Thursday night’s pick.
But regardless, they are set up to move forward with the comfort knowing that their investments, and their potential future splashes, are protected. That’s as safe as safe can be on draft night.
This story was originally published April 25, 2025 at 9:04 AM.
