For the Dallas Cowboys, there is not a whole lot to worry about on the offensive side of the ball entering the 2026 season, as long as everyone stays relatively healthy. The skill positions are the envy of the league, with two star receivers and a steamroller of a running back around quarterback Dak Prescott, still among the best passers in the NFL. But if there’s an Achilles heel here, it is the offensive line, and the hope that 2024 draftee Nate Thomas could be among the guys to help fix the problem just has not panned out.
Eyebrows were raised around The Star when coach Brian Schottenheimer made clear that Guyton, a 2024 first-rounder, would be competing for the left tackle job with Thomas, a 2024 seventh-rounder. Guyton was injured in last year’s training camp, and was never completely right through the season, which ended with an ankle injury.
Guyton had a good enough camp by most accounts, but he beat out Thomas for the job in part because Thomas struggled throughout the summer. Thomas has also gotten a look at right tackle, and could be the swing tackle for the Cowboys off the bench.
Nate Thomas Out for the Cowboys?
If he makes the team, that is. Former Cowboys scout Brian Broaddus, who now covers the team for 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, in putting together his list of linemen that will be on the team for the upcoming season, notably left Thomas off the roster all together.
He does have the Cowboys keeping Drew Shelton, the fourth-round pick from Penn State who has looked out of his depth all summer and who some say the Cowboys should cut. Broaddus would be open to moving him.
Speaking on the, “Love of the Star,” podcast, Broaddus laid out his O-line room: “My ninth guys is Drew Shelton and I’m to the point where I will trade Shelton out for veteran help. But right now, lineman No. 6 for me is TJ Bass, lineman 7 is (Ajani) Cornelius, lineman 8 is Nick Leverett, lineman nine is Shelton. I am keeping nine right now with the possibility of moving Shelton off and on. I am going to do my best not to play with Shelton this year, I think Cornelius will play guard and tackle if he has to.
And I think in a real emergency, they’d move Tyler Smith (from guard to tackle).
Most See Offensive Lineman Staying Put
It would represent a steep fall for Thomas to go from starting four games last season and competing for the starting left tackle spot to simply being cut by the Cowboys. Maybe they could move Thomas to the practice squad, which would be an option. Or, they could keep 10 linemen, including Thomas.
It should be noted that Broaddus is well in the minority when it comes to Thomas’ fate. A look at other Cowboys roster projections suggests Thomas will stick.
The O-line room, according to Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News: “Tyler Guyton, Tyler Smith, Cooper Beebe, Tyler Booker, Terence Steele, Nick Leverett, Ajani Cornelius, T.J. Bass, Drew Shelton, Nate Thomas.
And according to Jon Machota of The Athletic: “Tyler Smith, Cooper Beebe. Tyler Booker, Tyler Guyton, Terence Steele, Nate Thomas, Drew Shelton, TJ Bass, Trevor Keegan, Ajani Cornelius.
And from Todd Archer of ESPN: “Tyler Guyton, Tyler Smith, Cooper Beebe, Tyler Booker, Terence Steele, T.J. Bass, Nate Thomas, Drew Shelton, Nick Leverett.”
Thomas, then, could be safe. But, Archer added, “The depth beyond Bass is a question. Thomas looks like the swing tackle for now, but he has lacked consistency. Like a lot of teams, look for the Cowboys to be active in potentially filling their last couple of spots here.”
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