Dallas Cowboys replace Zack Martin by selecting Alabama Guard Tyler Booker in NFL Draft first round
Zack Martin paid a visit to The Star in Frisco on Thursday afternoon, just hours before the start of the NFL Draft. Retirement life is treating him well. It appears Zack is down a good 30 pounds or so, not that he needed to lose any weight.
And, just a few hours later, a big weight was lifted off Jerry Jones' shoulders.
11 years after Jerry went with the overwhelming consensus in the Dallas draft room and picked Notre Dame's Zack Martin over Johnny Manziel with the 16th pick of the 2014 NFL Draft, Jones doubled down on "offensive guard" and took Alabama's Tyler Booker with the 12th pick of the 2025 NFL Draft.
I don't know that I've ever seen a Cowboys draft room more excited about a draft pick. It looked like everybody in the room was on board with this pick.
This despite the fact there are some critics who say the 1st round is too early to select an offensive guard. However, this is the 2nd time in the last 4 years, and the 3rd time in the last 12 drafts, that the Cowboys have taken a guard.
It worked out very well with Martin in 2014, and with Tyler Smith in 2022. They've combined for 11 Pro Bowls between them in the last 11 seasons.
Tyler Booker says his idol growing up was Cowboys Hall of Famer Larry Allen, perhaps the best guard in NFL history who passed away last year.
But the bar is set very high for Booker if he is going to carve out his own niche in Cowboys history next to Allen, Martin, Nate Newton, John Niland, Herb Scott, Leonard Davis, Blaine Nye, and Smith. Those eight Cowboys offensive guards combined for 31 Pro Bowl selections between them.
But if anyone can do it, Booker might be the one. He joins Smith, Martin, and Niland as the only guards to be drafted by the Cowboys in the 1st round, and he is the #1 ranked offensive guard in this year's Big Green Scouting Notebook.
Booker just turned 21 on April 12. The 6-5, 321 pounder with 34 ½ inch arms was a Team Captain at Alabama. He's a big, strong Alpha male leader, who says he just loves to play football and is described as a mauler on the field. "It's like legal assault out there," he said. "I want to make people not want to play football again."
A native of New Haven, Connecticut, Booker went to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida where he developed into a 5-star recruit and Under Armour All-American. He was the #10 overall recruit in the 2022 class.
Booker was a Freshman All-American at Alabama, logging 420 snaps at both left guard and right guard in 2022. He became a full-time starter the next two seasons, making 26 of 27 career starts at left guard and one at left tackle. He was named 1st team All-American in 2024 and 1st team All-SEC both seasons.
With those long arms, Booker has great length and provides tremendous power in the run game. He has a wide base which enables him to anchor and stymie pass rushers, and he can be a mauler in the trenches.
Paired with the two-time Pro Bowler Smith at the guard positions flanking center Cooper Beebe, the Cowboys offensive line appears to be greatly upgraded with the addition of Booker, who said, "I'm a program guy. I will give my all."
On Thursday night Head Coach Brian Schottenheimer said this about Booker: "I'm not just excited about the player. I'm extremely excited about the person."
So, the Cowboys are elated with their first pick, but there's much more work to do. They currently have nine more selections, including two tonight. They have pick #44 in the 2nd round and #76 in the 3rd round.
Possible players they could target tonight:
2nd Round
Quinshon Judkins — RB — Ohio State
TreVeyon Henderson — RB — Ohio State
Kaleb Johnson — RB — Iowa
Luther Burden — WR — Missouri
Jaylin Noel — WR — Iowa State
Kyle Williams — WR — Washington State
Shavon Revel — CB — East Carolina
Trey Amos — CB — Ole Miss
Azareye'h Thomas — CB — Florida State
J. T. Tuimoloau — DE — Ohio State
Jack Sawyer — DE — Ohio State
Nic Scourton — DE — Texas A&M
Landon Jackson — DE — Arkansas
Darius Alexander — DT — Toledo
Shemar Turner — DT — Texas A&M
3rd Round
Bayshul Tuten — RB — Virginia Tech
Damien Martinez — RB — Miami
Ollie Gordon — RB — Oklahoma State
Jack Bech — WR — TCU
Savion Williams — WR — TCU
Elic Ayomanor — WR — Stanford
Alfred Collins — DT — Texas
Deone Walker — DT — Kentucky
Jeffrey Bassa — LB — Oregon
Danny Stutsman — LB — Oklahoma
Andrew Mukuba — S — Texas
Quincy Riley — CB — Louisville
Caleb Ransaw — CB — Tulane
Benjamin Morrison — CB — Notre Dame
