Dallas Cowboys' Worst Offseason Decision Could Wreck 2026 Campaign

The Dallas Cowboys have been lauded for their offseason thus far, and understandably so, but we cannot say things have been perfect.

The Cowboys went into the offseason with a mandate to fix the defense, and while we won't know for sure if they accomplished that goal until games start, we do know Dallas did what it needed to in terms of overhauling the unit by firing Matt Eberflus, hiring Christian Parker and bringing in a ton of new players.

On the other side of the spectrum, the Cowboys failed at two very important positions, and that leads us to what we believe was the team's worst offseason decision of 2026.

Cowboys' worst offseason decision

Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Tyler Guyton (60) goes through a drill during practice. — Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Tyler Guyton. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Lack of competition at both tackle spots

A lot of attention has been on the Cowboys making Tyler Guyton compete for his starting job in 2026, and rightly so, because Guyton hasn't been good over two years. But Dallas really should've had competition at both tackle spots.

That's because Terence Steele has struggled mightily since 2023. Here's a look at his year-by-year numbers in that span, according to Pro Football Focus:

2023: 8 sacks, 54 pressures, 7 penalties, 57.2 in run-blocking, 45.9 in pass-blocking

2024: 9 sacks, 41 pressures, 7 penalties, 78.9 in run-blocking, 57.5 in pass-blocking

2025: 6 sacks, 52 pressures, 7 penalties, 70.2 in run-blocking, 54.9 in pass-blocking

Despite knowing all that, the Cowboys do not appear to be keen on making Steele earn his starting job like they are Guyton.

Another issue we have is with the "competition" at left tackle.

It's hard to take the supposed battle between Guyton and Nate Thomas seriously when the former has been getting all of the first-team reps during the offseason.

"It’s a competition between Tyler Guyton and Nate Thomas, but Guyton is the clear favorite," The Athletic's Jon Machota noted. "He was the one running with the first-team through minicamp practices. As long as he can stay healthy, Guyton should hold down that spot in his third season."

And it's not like Thomas was a great form of competition, either. The former seventh-round pick was bad in his limited chances in 2025, with Thomas posting PFF grades of 31.6 in pass-blocking and 52.9 in run-blocking while giving up three sacks and 23 pressures in just 219 pass-blocking snaps.

While Dallas did add Drew Shelton out of Penn State with a fourth-round pick, he was not likely to be serious competition for Guyton because he needs time to develop before being capable of competing, and who knows if he'll ever get there.

The Cowboys have now backed themselves into a corner at left and right tackle.

They have to hope Steele and Guyton rebound in 2026 or they will be forced to depend on Thomas and/or Shelton and neither one is guaranteed to fix what could be one or two huge problems.

The Tyler Smith option is there, but the Cowboys prefer to keep him at guard. Not to mention, Smith only covers one spot and moving Smith then forces Dallas to depend on T.J. Bass as a starter.

Until the defense proves itself, we know the Cowboys are going to have to lean heavily on their offense. Knowing that, there should have been a better plan at the bookends of the offensive line.

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