When Tyler Guyton’s phone rang, the Cowboys made his ‘lifelong dream come true’

FRISCO -- A long-awaited moment for Tyler Guyton and his family arrived Thursday at last.

Then, they waited some more.

The Cowboys were on the clock in the first round shortly before 10 p.m. Guyton, a former Oklahoma tackle, sat between his parents on an Austin rental-home couch. The lifelong Cowboys fans knew their favorite team could use a left tackle, Tyron Smith having departed last month in free agency.

But Guyton’s phone did not ring at No. 24 overall.

About 200 miles north, the Cowboys’ phones did.

The team weighed four trade offers and accepted one from the Detroit Lions, moving back five slots to acquire a third-round choice. The trade-alert banner on the television broadcast drew a groan at the Guyton draft party.

“My heart hit the floor,” said Alvin Guyton, Tyler’s father. “What’s going on here? You know, I kept my fingers crossed. ‘Maybe at No. 29, they’ll do the right thing for us and make us all happy over here.’”

A delayed celebration continued Friday morning when Cowboys owner Jerry Jones flew Guyton, his family and other loved ones on a private jet to Dallas. The team bus shuttled them to the team facility in Frisco. During a headquarters tour, the 29th pick continued to process what he called a “lifelong dream come true.”

Soon, the work begins.

Guyton embraces that.

The 6-7, 322-pound offensive lineman, who is exceptionally light on his feet, excites the Cowboys with his athletic upside. Basketball was his first love — he didn’t play high school football until becoming a defensive lineman as a senior at Manor High School, located just northeast of Austin.

Guyton first played offensive tackle upon arrival at TCU. When head coach Gary Patterson left the program, he transferred to Oklahoma and started 14 games at tackle in two seasons. Thirteen starts came on the right side; that was left-handed quarterback Dillon Gabriel’s blind side.

He downplayed the transition to the left side in Dallas.

“Just refining my technique, repetition over and over,” Guyton said. “Doing it so much that I can’t get it wrong. It’s just switching your footwork, switching your hands and your technique and also flipping the plays in your mind. I’ve been playing left tackle since I got into college, and I actually feel like I’m better at left tackle and I’m more comfortable over there anyway. So, I feel like the switch will be pretty easy.”

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy described Guyton as having a “tremendous ceiling.”

“To me, if that doesn’t excite you to coach,” McCarthy added, “then you need to do something else.”

Guyton believes in his own potential, too.

He said he wants to grow his game to reach Lions right tackle Penei Sewell’s level. Sewell, the No. 7 overall pick in 2021, is a two-time Pro Bowler who was named to the AP All-Pro first team last season. If successful, Guyton will become the latest first-round hit for Dallas on the offensive line, joining Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin and Tyler Smith since 2011.

Chasing down greatness won’t come overnight.

Guyton said the process will require strides both with his technique and in the weight room.

“I’m trying to refine my run blocking, refine that nasty,” Guyton said. “Get my hands right and roll my hips and finish somebody and dump them. That’s what’s on my mind. That’s what I’ve been working towards, and that’s what I’ve been thinking about. …When I’m not on the field, I’m a cool guy. I like to laugh and show love.

“But when I’m on the field, I want to hurt people. That’s just naturally my tendency as a player. I’m violent, and I love the game of football, and that’s what you do when you play football.”

Guyton introduced his family and friends Friday before the introductory news conference began.

Several minutes into it, he acknowledged them again.

Guyton appreciates his opportunity to learn from Martin and feed off left guard Tyler Smith’s physicality. He looks forward to learning from offensive line coach Mike Solari, feeling they clicked during the predraft process. He recognizes the weight of succeeding Tyron Smith, someone whose technique he watched and admired for years, be it on television or in person when attending Cowboys games at AT&T Stadium.

His phone rang Thursday evening — later than hoped, but it rang.

It never would have, he said, without his loved ones’ support.

“Every single last one of y’all,” Guyton said. “All the sacrifices y’all made for me are the reason I’m here today, taking me to practice early in the morning, making me food whenever I needed to [eat], taking me to the house whenever I didn’t have a ride, and staying with me at times when I was down. I appreciate it, and I love all y’all. I thank y’all for being here.”

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