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FRISCO, TX — It's where many, if not every, NFL game is won or lost. The interior of an offensive line has to be the strongest point of attack for any team, and the Dallas Cowboys know this all too well, which is why they've often invested the right resources in making sure theirs is as impactful as possible — Zack Martin leading that charge for a long while now.
But, entering the 2025 season, are they as comfortable as they should be between their edges?
There was a lot of musical chairs on the interior, and that means there are plenty of questions that will need to be addressed before this offseason is all said-and-done.
Past: In the previous edition of 'What's Next?', I touched on where the Cowboys truly began their journey in the 2020s at offensive tackle, and that included mentioning La'El Collins — the former starting right tackle who was supplanted in 2022 by Terence Steele.
And in mentioning Collins, I'd be remiss to not recall his trajectory to that role, because it began at left guard.
You can bet Ronald Leary remembers, seeing as it was Leary who manned the role between Travis Frederick and Tyron Smith, and effectively under injury cleared the path for the Cowboys to give an undrafted Collins his shot; and he'd ultimately replace Leary as starting left guard, later being moved to RT following the retirement of Doug Free.
And I'm sure you remember Frederick, a Hall of Fame talent at center who retired in 2020 due to his ongoing battle with Guillain–Barré syndrome — an incomparable player (and human being) who first returned in 2019 en route to landing his fifth and final Pro Bowl nod.
The trio of Leary/Collins, Frederick and Zack Martin was devastating to opposing defensive lines, and it's something the Cowboys have been trying to get back to for years now, with Martin being the only remaining superstar from that lineup … or is he?
Present: Tyler Biadasz deciding to exit in free agency opened the door for the Cowboys to seek out a different potential successor to Frederick in the middle, and they were able to finesse a trade with the Lions in the first round of last year's draft to generate an additional pick — a third-rounder that became Cooper Beebe.
Beebe successfully overtook Brock Hoffman to land the role of starting center, but Hoffman wasn't out of the race just yet, or rather he found another race to win; and at the expense of another talented young player in T.J. Bass, as Hoffman wound up landing the role of starting right guard as Martin began dealing with injuries that eventually ended his season.
Future:
And now the question becomes a prominent one: did it also end Martin's NFL career?
The future Hall of Famer is set to make that decision once he's fully healthy and after talking with the Cowboys and his family, meaning the role of RG1 could very well remain with Hoffman going forward, as Bass becomes a more-than-capable backup.
In all, this does mean there could be a ton of youth at center and right guard, with former first-round pick Tyler Smith becoming the definitive anchor for the offensive line interior. Hot off of a second Pro Bowl nod, the All-Pro lineman is everything the Cowboys hoped he'd be, and a lot more.
Others looking to make some waves are Matt Waletzko (a tackle getting some work at guard), Nathan Thomas and Jack Anderson. Thomas spent the entirety of his rookie season on injured reserve after getting the nod as a seventh-round pick, and Anderson was signed to a futures deal recently.
It feels as if the Cowboys won't need to put a premium on addressing the position in free agency or the upcoming NFL Draft, but options will be available should they choose to do so.
