Dallas City News

At long last, the time has arrived: the Dallas Cowboys kicked off their training camp in Oxnard, California on Thursday. This marks the unofficial return of football, as preseason games are right around the corner and, before you know it, the start of the regular season. Training camp represents the first real opportunity to see the entire team – well, most of them – working against each other.

One of the most consistent storylines for the Cowboys, at least as it relates to how the team will look in 2024, is their rebuilt offensive line. Dallas watched Tyron Smith and Tyler Biadasz walk out the door in free agency, and they spent two top-100 draft picks on their replacements: Oklahoma tackle Tyler Guyton and Kansas State center Cooper Beebe.

However, the start of training camp offered a first glimpse at the Cowboys’ starting five in the trenches, and neither of the two rookies were seen:

In their places were two veterans, Chuma Edoga and Brock Hoffman. This isn’t an entirely surprising development, as Edoga and Hoffman have significantly more experience than Guyton and Beebe, with both having started several games before. Edoga spent last year as the Cowboys’ top swing tackle and was inked to an extension in the offseason, while Hoffman was the team’s top reserve interior lineman and has drawn praise from coaches.

Moreover, the Cowboys have usually taken this approach with rookie offensive linemen under Mike McCarthy. Biadasz didn’t become the starting center until his fifth game in the NFL, and even then it only came because of injury to starter Joe Looney. Tyler Smith was also locked in a heated battle for the starting left guard job with Connor McGovern, a battle that was ultimately decided when Tyron Smith was injured and the rookie was forced to swing out to left tackle.

It seems that the pair of rookies will be forced to earn the starting roles they are widely expected to fill. That makes sense, too, as both are playing new positions in the NFL: Guyton primarily played right tackle in college, while Beebe played guard. Both rookies had some moments, for better or worse, in individual drills on Thursday, too:

The most important thing to remember is that this was the first day of training camp, and plenty of things will change with this roster between now and the start of the season. The offensive line, in particular, is a position where battles tend to be resolved in preseason games with live game reps rather than practice.

Still, this sets up a couple of position battles that will go a long way towards determining the success of the Cowboys offense – and their draft class – this upcoming season. The hope has to be that this first team unit doesn’t look the same come time for kickoff in Cleveland.