FRISCO, Texas (AP) — If Alabama's Tyler Booker ends up as the replacement for retiring perennial All-Pro Zack Martin at right guard with the Dallas Cowboys, he understands the magnitude.
“I watched Zack Martin a lot growing up. He’s a Hall of Famer,” Booker said Thursday night after the Cowboys made him the 12th overall pick in the NFL draft. “But I think I would be doing me and the organization a disservice by going there and trying to be Zack Martin. I’m going to be Tyler Booker.”
It was a somewhat surprising choice for a club without an overwhelming need, but with priorities seemingly higher than another blocker, despite the recent retirement of Martin, a seven-time All-Pro.
The Cowboys got Martin with the 16th overall pick 11 years ago, and there was a sense that Dallas might trade down because of the draft's depth at running back and receiver, two positions of need.
Dallas stayed put, and took an offensive lineman in the first round for the third time in the past four drafts.
The Cowboys also did that from 2011-14, first with tackle Tyron Smith, followed by center Travis Frederick in 2013 and Martin a year later. That trio finished their careers with a combined 22 Pro Bowls and 10 All-Pro nods.
The selection of Smith triggered a rebuilding of the Dallas offensive line that led to the Cowboys having one of the top units in the league within a few years.
Dallas is hoping for the same in a period of transition up front on offense. Left guard Tyler Smith was Dallas’ first-round pick in 2022 (24th overall). Left tackle Tyler Guyton went 29th last year, when the Cowboys traded down five spots.
Guyton struggled more as a rookie than did Smith, who spent most of his first year at left tackle after Tyron Smith tore a hamstring during training camp and missed 13 games.
Dallas' rushing offense was among the worst in the NFL last season, and first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer has said improvement in that area is one of his highest priorities.
“When I was growing up, the Cowboys always had a great offensive line,” Booker said. “Like, always, always, always. That was a staple of who they were. I want to further that tradition, just like Alabama was known for having a great offensive line.”
Schottenheimer left little doubt that the Cowboys believe Booker can be a walk-in starter at right guard, the same way Martin was 11 years ago.
“When we looked at him, we felt like he was an immediate starter, a guy that's going to play for a long time at a very high level,” Schottenheimer said. “You lose a guy like Zack, you don't have to replace him. We felt like this is a guy that comes in immediately and fills a big void for us.”
The 6-foot-5 Booker played mostly left guard for the Crimson Tide, and the Cowboys technically have a starting spot available on the other side of the line with Martin stepping away. Dallas has been high on Brock Hoffman, the injury replacement for Martin late last season.
The Cowboys probably would have been comfortable opening the season with a starting five of Guyton, Tyler Smith, center Cooper Beebe, Hoffman and right tackle Terence Steele.
The drafting of Booker in the top half of the first round is likely to change that thinking. The move also comes after the Cowboys added three offensive linemen in free agency: Robert Jones and Saahdiq Charles, both listed as guards, and Hakeem Adeniji.
Dallas owner Jerry Jones said the addition of Booker came with Dak Prescott in mind. The star quarterback is going into his 10th season, and the first year of a $240 million, four-year deal that was the NFL's first to average $60 million per season.
Prescott agreed to the deal hours before the season opener in 2024, when the Cowboys finished 7-10 and decided not to bring back coach Mike McCarthy as his contract expired. Dallas' three-year playoff streak ended.
“It has everything to do with when you make somebody the highest-paid player in the NFL, you'd like to have something in front of him,” Jones said. “That's kind of cute talk, but it's really fact talk.”
The Cowboys have the 44th overall pick in the second round and the 76th overall pick in the third round on Friday night.
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This story has been corrected to show Zack Martin was an All-Pro seven times, not six.
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Schuyler Dixon, The Associated Press
