Cowboys draft grades: Tyler Booker fills a need, but leaves Dallas short elsewhere

SportsDay’s columnists and Cowboys beat writers grade the Cowboys’ first-round pick of offensive lineman Tyler Booker from Alabama:

Alabama offensive lineman Tyler Booker, right, poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being chosen by the Dallas Cowboys with the 12th overall pick during the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)(Jeff Roberson / AP)

Tim Cowlishaw

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I don’t have anything bad to say about Tyler Booker because I don’t know anything bad about him. It’s just the Cowboys’ love for taking too many offensive linemen in the first round. That’s three Tylers in four years and six O-linemen in 15 years — 40% of their picks. They are usually good players, a couple were great, but they always leave the roster short elsewhere and they don’t win playoff games this way.

Grade: C

David Moore

Was the Cowboys choosing to use their first-round pick on an offensive lineman for the third time in the last four years a surprise to most outside of the organization? Sure. That doesn’t make it a bad pick. Dominant defensive tackles abound in the NFC East. Adding Booker to Tyler Smith and Cooper Beebe on the interior of the Cowboys offensive line was an appropriate response.

Grade: B

Kevin Sherrington

Tyler Booker was the best guard in the draft and fills a need, but the 12th pick is a little rich for a guard, even if history shows the man he’s replacing, Zack Martin, was also a 12th pick. Just the same, seems like the Cowboys could have traded back two or three spots, picked up a third and still gotten Booker.

Grade: B-minus

Calvin Watkins

Booker is a player who fills a need for the Cowboys and was high on their draft board. He was mainly a left guard in college but said moving to the right side won’t be a problem. If you want to say this is a safe pick, that would be fair, but in a lot of ways this is the correct pick for a team that seeks upgrades to their offensive line.

Grade: B