Cowboys Country

Meet Tyler Booker: Dallas Cowboys No. 12 Overall NFL Draft Pick

The Dallas Cowboys have picked Tyler Booker with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Matt Galatzan

Tyler Booker, OG, Alabama
Tyler Booker, OG, Alabama / Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The Dallas Cowboys selected Alabama Crimson Tide offensive lineman Tyler Booker with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on Thursday night, adding a much-needed weapon to their offense for star quarterback Dak Prescott.

Last season, the Cowboys offensive line struggled mightily in the wake of the retirement of Zack Martin and needed to address it in some way on Thursday night. Now they have found that replacement with a powerful earth-moving guard in Booker.

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With that in mind, let's take a look at what we know about Booker.

Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe celebrates his touchdown with offensive lineman Tyler Booker
Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe celebrates his touchdown with offensive lineman Tyler Booker / John David Mercer-Imagn Images

Big Shoes to Fill

Tyler Booker is going to have no small shoes to fill when he walks into the locker room in Arlington. Last season, Cowboys future Hall-of-Famer Zack Martin elected to retire after a legendary career with America's team.

That left a gaping hole in the interior of the offensive line that needed addressing, and Booker is now being called on to fill it.

Fortunately for the Cowboys, he has some skins on the wall himself, being named a first team All-American in 2024, and earned back-to-back first-team All-SEC nods in 2023 and 2024.

MORE: Cowboys insider has surprising list of names to watch in NFL draft

Fierce Competitor

Booker fits the mold of what the Cowboys are looking for in an offensive linemen to a tee, embracing a violent and aggressive mentality to punish his opponents upfront.

"It's legal assault out there, and I love football because the brand of football that I play, I make guys not love football anymore," Booker said. "I do that every down by just giving it my all and letting them know I'm not gonna let up. The thing I love most about football is taking the love away from other people."

And if the Cowboys are going to improve their rushing attack next season, that is exactly the type of personality they need to embrace.

Elite College Production

In three seasons with the Tide, Booker played 2,007 offensive snaps and gave up just two sacks. He also allowed just 21 pressures through that time. Last season with the Tide, he played mostly at left guard but did have the flexibility to move out to tackle, just like Martin did during his time in Dallas.

With Alabama, he helped pave the way for a dynamic rushing attack that averaged 4.63 yards per carry and scored 41 touchdowns on the ground.

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writers’ Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014, covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.