Tyron Smith OT USC
I was going to put this in the Marc Colombo thread, but I will put it here.
I think Dallas could draft a guy like Marcus Gilbert (3rd-4th round) and replace Colombo easily. James Carpenter (3rd-4th round) is another guy who could probably do it. A team might take Carpenter at the end of the second , because all those OTs are going to rise. Gilbert is just a RT, but he could go late 2 or early three before you pick in round 3. When the top 6 are gone before pick 41, those other two guys are going to rise some. Those guys looked good at the Senior Bowl and helped their stock.
Dallas has started a sixth round pick at RT (2005), and it worked until Adams got hurt. Then, Dallas had zero OTs. That 6th round pick turned out do be not very good. That was the start of the end for Bledsoe.
That leads me to the current OT situation. Dallas has one OT who is a free agent, too. What happens if Free gets hurt? Is Sam Young going over there? That would get ugly fast. Who is going over to LT? Smith's athleticism gives you a fighting chance at LT, even if you don't want him at LT during his rookie year.
Just because those guys (Gilbert/Carpenter) project to play RT doesn't make them the best options to improve your offensive line quality and depth. If Dallas really wants to get better, younger, stronger, and more athletic on the offensive line, Tyron Smith (a red chip player) is the best pass protector in this draft, and he is a great run blocker. He should be an option at 9 before it's all said and done.
If you compare Smith to Doug Free, I would bet that Smith would project to be a better player and project to LT. Free has the upper hand in free agency, and Dallas has no leverage. It's interesting that the Cowboys have not locked him up. You can sign your own players.
Anyway, I"m going to stand my ground on drafting Tyron Smith (at 9) for three reasons.
First, he's the best offensive linemen in the draft and can start at RT and have Pro Bowl potential at LT some day in the short term. Smith would be a safe short term and long term investment. The Cowboys just played 16 games with Colombo, the worst RT that I saw all year, so Smith can start at RT for Dallas. In the long run, your team will be much better off. They remember what you do in November and December, and you will be better off late in the year and for the next decade to come. Other teams are starting rookie offensive linemen who don't come out of round 1. The 49ers started two rookies (both first round picks). The Raiders stated a rookie at LT, a third round pick.
Second, the big five OTs will most likely be way gone by 41. Free agency is stronger on the interior, and I'd rather have a real big time young talent up front than some cheap free agent patch. If you pass on Smith at 9, you will most likely watch the top 6 OTs and the top two center guards come off the board before 41. Will Danny Watkins even make it to 41? Is Jason Pinkston (probably an OG) going to be there at 41? You can't even be sure about Pinkston if those guys start flying off the board.
Third, the blue chip players (5 or 6) will likely be gone by pick 9 if you stay put. Plus, it is a deep CB class and a weak safety class. IMO, unless you are drafting Patrick Peterson, only a DE like Marcell Dareus should even be in the conversation with Smith at 9 since DE is such a big area of need, too. Dallas' talent strength is at the offensive and defensive skill positions, but their weakness is in the trenches, (up front) on offense and defense. Julio Jones may be there, but Dallas has Bryant and Austin. That is a log jam. The best way to get real impact is to draft a player in the trenches if you stay at 9, imo.
Taking Smith gives you the top rated offensive linemen in the draft and a player who would probably be a top 5 pick in the 2012 draft, all things being equal. Smith has some experience at LT and was behind a log jam of talent at USC. His skill set is that of an elite LT. He would have started at LT his senior year, but USC is on probation. The NFL told him that he was highly rated, so he left early. I'm confident that Lane Kiffin would have made Smith a top 5 pick in 2012. He turned Johnathan Crompton into a draft pick for the Chargers, a player who couldn't even keep his job the year before.
I might go down fighting on this one, but I'll go down fighting. Is this the year the Cowboys finally address their rapidly declining, aging offensive line, or will it be another empty draft up front on offense. How much longer will Dallas' offensive line hold them back? There have been two big playoff collapses on that line since 2007, and there has been 1 change in four years. I wanted Colombo replaced after 2009, and he should have been replaced.
Dallas needs to get away from slow footed maulers and big, slow offensive linemen and start drafting and playing players like Tyron Smith. The Robert Brewsters, James Martens, Rob Petites, E.J. Wheatley's ect... are not cutting. It's time to take a dip out of the top of the offensive line ice cream bucket.
As Parcells used to state, "We'll see".
DAL @ GB
LAR 
IND 
CAR 
