Dallas Cowboys Rookie Drew Shelton Shows He Isn't Ready For Increased Role in OL

When the Dallas Cowboys drafted offensive tackle Drew Shelton in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft, the hope was that he could seize the swing tackle role in Year 1.

However, through two preseason games, Shelton has shown he is far from being ready for role.

In preseason Week 1, Shelton surrendered three pressures and posted grades of 34.5 in pass-blocking and 65.2 in run-blocking, according to Pro Football Focus.

Just when we thought things couldn't get any worse for him in the second preseason game, they did. Shelton gave up four pressures and posted PFF grades of 47.9 and 3.0 in run-blocking and pass protection, respectively.

The glass-half-full look at those grades is that the pass pro grade has skyrocketed from the 0.0 PFF initially had it at.

#Cowboys LT Drew Shelton had a 0.0 pass-blocking grade in Week 2 of the preseason, according to @PFF.

He allowed four pressures, three hurries, and one QB hit.
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) August 23, 2026

In all seriousness, it has been a dreadful start to Shelton's career in Dallas, as he's allowed seven pressures, three QB hits and has grades of 13.5 in pass-blocking and 53.9 in run-blocking over a pair of exhibition contests.

Not exactly what you want to see from a fourth-round pick and the numbers show the Cowboys cannot depend on him for any kind of a significant role, leaving Dallas one less option in the event Tyler Guyton struggles again in 2026.

Nobody should be surprised

Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Drew Shelton. — Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Drew Shelton (67) at training camp at River Ridge Playing Fields. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On the bright side, this performance isn't totally shocking, as the overwhelming belief was that Shelton was going to need time before he could be relied upon.

As Lance Zierlein of NFL.com noted in his scouting report for the rookie, Shelton, who has great size at 6-foot-5 and 313 pounds, had strength and technique concerns going into the draft and figured to be a project at the next level.

The Cowboys may have also done Shelton a disservice by moving him around to different spots this offseason. Not only has Shelton gotten looks at both tackle spots, but he was also playing some guard earlier this offseason.

The best bet with a rookie who needs more development than most is to let him focus on one spot, which Dallas didn't do.

Shelton's struggles will also call into question the pick itself. There were no shortage of fans and analysts who doubted the pick to begin with, and their concerns have been validated thus far.

That said, there's still a ways to go before we can label Shelton a bust, so we can still hold out hope for the Penn State product at this early stage.

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