Cowboys benching 1st-round OL pick ahead of crucial Week 6 matchup, Lions Aidan Hutchinson

The Dallas Cowboys have some shifts in their starting lineups in Week 6, and it’s not entirely due to injury. With Eric Kendricks out for the game, rookie fourth-round pick Marist Liufau is going to wear the green dot, allowing communication directly with defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. That one has been expected as Kendricks missed all week of practice with a back injury, and was ruled out on Friday.

What wasn’t expected was that Tyler Guyton, the club’s first-round pick, would be benched for the game. Guyton injured his knee relatively early in Dallas’ victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was listed as questionable to return, but never did as left guard Tyler Smith slid outside and the offense stabilized.

Dallas has announced via sideline reporter Kristi Scales, that Guyton will not start against Aidan Hutchinson and the Detroit Lions, despite being a full participant in practice all week. Guyton had no injury designation on Friday’s injury report.

Guyton has struggled so far in his rookie year, in both pass protection and run blocking. The Cowboys had their first worthwhile ground effort of the season in Week 6, and it primarily happened when Smith returned to the role he played as a rookie in 2022, and TJ Bass came in at left guard.

Guyton has allowed four sacks on the year, along with 13 pressures. Pro Football Focus has graded the Oklahoma product a 49.0 in pass protection, a red grade indicating he’s below replacement level.

His run-block grade hasn’t been much better, 52.5.

Smith, who had a great pass pro grade prior to sliding outside against the Steelers, didn’t fare much better than Guyton’s average, grading out at a 54.2 in that contest. But he turned in an impressive run blocking performance. Meanwhile Bass graded out at a lowly 11.0 on 31 pass sets.

It will be interesting to see if the change is a net positive for the Dallas offense.