With some teams set for rookie minicamps this weekend, a flurry of draft pick signings is transpiring Thursday. The Cowboys are in on the action; all but one of their draftees is now under contract.
This includes a deal with first-round tackle Tyler Guyton, ESPN.com’s Todd Archer tweets. Dallas inked the Oklahoma prospect, whom the team drafted at No. 29 overall. Holdouts involving first-rounders are much rarer now thanks to the NFL’s slot system, which came to be as part of the 2011 CBA. Guyton’s four-year deal (feat. a fifth-year option) will be fully guaranteed.
The Cowboys have also signed offensive lineman Cooper Beebe (Round 3, Kansas State), linebacker Marist Liufau (Round 3), cornerback Caelen Carson (Round 5), wide receiver Ryan Flournoy, tackle Nathan Thomas (Round 6) and defensive tackle Justin Rogers (Round 7). Only second-rounder Marshawn Kneeland is unsigned. The second round has featured the longest waits in recent years, due to each draft seeing guarantee gains made by second-round picks.
Guyton looks to have a clear path to being the Cowboys’ Week 1 left tackle. Although the prospect of the team moving Tyler Smith back to left tackle surfaced earlier this offseason, it looks like — for the time being, at least — the team plans to keep its versatile left-sider at left guard. The Cowboys saw both Smith and Zack Martin earn All-Pro honors last season, helping the team withstand the losses of All-Decade LT Tyron Smith and center starter Tyler Biadasz. Beebe, chosen out of Kansas State, has a decent shot at taking over at center.
Dallas held the No. 24 overall pick but moved down five spots (via Detroit) and landed Guyton at 29. The extra selection turned into Beebe. Guyton will be asked to make the less common transition from college right tackle to NFL LT. The Saints may well ask Taliese Fuaga to do the same this year, though that is not certain just yet. Guyton stands 6-foot-8 — three inches taller than Tyron Smith — and 322 pounds. This year’s draft featured one of the best tackle crops in recent draft history; Guyton became the ninth tackle — if Duke LT (and likely Buccaneers center) Graham Barton is counted — chosen this year.
A TCU transfer, Guyton only made 14 college starts and did not earn first- or second-team All-Big 12 acclaim while a Sooner. But he checked in as a first-round-caliber talent. And the Cowboys have found a number of standouts in Round 1 — from Martin to the Smiths to Micah Parsons to CeeDee Lamb — over the past several years. They will hope Guyton can become a long-term blindside presence post-Tyron Smith, who joined the Jets in free agency.
