ByRainer Sabin / Reporter
rsabin@dallasnews.com | Bio
For the first time in 30 years, the Cowboys drafted an offensive lineman in the first round when they grabbed USC's Tyron Smith with the ninth overall pick in the NFL Draft last month. By doing so, they made it abundantly clear that they expect Smith to one day man the left tackle position.
Yet it's uncertain whether the 20-year-old Smith will be placed there this season. After all, Doug Free is the team's incumbent left tackle and he excelled last season.
"I think we have to work that out," offensive line coach Hudson Houck said on the day Smith was selected. "I think we have to look at it and see. Free has proven he can play well on the left side and [Smith] has been on the right side. We could switch them very easily. That's a possibility."
Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett seems willing to consider all options. In an interview with Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio on Monday, he said the Cowboys will wait until they can survey Smith at practice before making any deciding where to deploy him.
"We feel like he's certainly has the attributes and traits to be a left tackle in this league," Garrett said. "His experience at USC over the last couple of years has been as a right tackle and we feel great about how Doug Free played for us at left tackle last year. So, he's a young guy. There's been discussion about plugging him in on the right side and just letting him do that and get himself acclimated to the transition he'll have to make to the NFL.
"Like we do with all of our lineman throughout training camp, we try to put them in different spots and to see how they feel in different stances, how they feel making the different blocks, and how the combinations of the offensive line work together. He'll have equal opportunity at both sides. We'll just see how it plays out."
At this point, there is no reason to hurry.
rsabin@dallasnews.com | Bio
For the first time in 30 years, the Cowboys drafted an offensive lineman in the first round when they grabbed USC's Tyron Smith with the ninth overall pick in the NFL Draft last month. By doing so, they made it abundantly clear that they expect Smith to one day man the left tackle position.
Yet it's uncertain whether the 20-year-old Smith will be placed there this season. After all, Doug Free is the team's incumbent left tackle and he excelled last season.
"I think we have to work that out," offensive line coach Hudson Houck said on the day Smith was selected. "I think we have to look at it and see. Free has proven he can play well on the left side and [Smith] has been on the right side. We could switch them very easily. That's a possibility."
Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett seems willing to consider all options. In an interview with Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio on Monday, he said the Cowboys will wait until they can survey Smith at practice before making any deciding where to deploy him.
"We feel like he's certainly has the attributes and traits to be a left tackle in this league," Garrett said. "His experience at USC over the last couple of years has been as a right tackle and we feel great about how Doug Free played for us at left tackle last year. So, he's a young guy. There's been discussion about plugging him in on the right side and just letting him do that and get himself acclimated to the transition he'll have to make to the NFL.
"Like we do with all of our lineman throughout training camp, we try to put them in different spots and to see how they feel in different stances, how they feel making the different blocks, and how the combinations of the offensive line work together. He'll have equal opportunity at both sides. We'll just see how it plays out."
At this point, there is no reason to hurry.
