FRISCO, Texas -- Tyler Guyton's first two years with the Dallas Cowboys was about injuries and inconsistencies for the left tackle.
As he entered his third season, the 2024 first-round pick knew he needed to improve everywhere, from his nutrition to his body composition to how he played his position.
He found himself asking questions. A lot of them.
At different times in the offseason, he worked with the man he replaced, Tyron Smith, a future Hall of Famer. He spent time with NFL veteran Terron Armstead. And for a few days in Oklahoma, he worked with Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson, who retired earlier this season, as well as Tampa Bay's Tristan Wirfs and Buffalo's Dion Dawkins.
"There's a level of finding yourself first as a young player," Guyton said. "You don't just want to interject on somebody else's process and becoming a pro. So I kind of tried to stay to my own and ask questions when I could. But as I grew older, I realized that the more that I'm in their ear, the more that I'm going to learn.
"So it was just about going through the process and being able to shake hands and rub shoulders with people and build relationships before I just go and ask for the ways that they became great."
The lessons learned about footwork and different pass sets, strong hands and balance have shone brightly through seven games. The Cowboys first caught a whiff of a change in Guyton in the offseason and in training camp.
What was supposed to be a training camp competition with Nate Thomas never materialized. As Guyton kept playing, coaches, personnel people and the front office did not want to say much to avoid jinxing what they were seeing.
"I think you see a guy, I'll use the word 'focused' and 'playing one play at a time,'" coach Brian Schottenheimer said. "This is a guy that's playing with tremendous confidence. But literally you see a guy that's bought into the mantra of one play at a time, do the play to the best of your ability, then move on.
"And we actually don't talk about him a lot because he's playing really, really well and playing at one of the elite levels in the league in my opinion."
Duke Manyweather trains a number of offensive linemen throughout the NFL in the offseason, including most Cowboys and Guyton. He saw an intentionality in Guyton's work that was different than his first two years. Guyton was detailed with how he trained in the weight room and the line-specific drills. His nutrition improved.
"He's a more confident player in Year 3 because his preparation hasn't just been work, but deliberate work," Manyweather said. "Confidence is the positive story we tell ourselves, but confidence is 'What has our preparation prepared us for?' It's preparing for the moment. And it takes a village."
In 431 snaps, Guyton has not given up a sack this season, and he has gone against top pass rushers, including Brian Burns of the New York Giants, the Baltimore Ravens' Trey Hendrickson and Houston Texans' Danielle Hunter.
Oddly, Guyton's pass block win rate is the lowest of his career (81.8%), but his run block win rate is the highest of his career (79.9%). His nastiness was on display in the Week 4 win against the Texans when he blocked linebacker Jake Hansen into the bench area on a Javonte Williams' run.
"That last 10% of the block opens up holes and opportunities for our backs and our playmakers to make plays, so I think that's what's extremely important," Guyton said. "Something that's harped on in our room is just that last 10% of that block. But being offensive line, you got to kind of be an ass---- so I'll take it."
In his first two seasons, Guyton allowed 11 sacks. He also missed nine games due to injury, including seven last season with a concussion and high ankle sprain that ultimately ended his season.
Before this season, the question around Guyton, the No. 29 pick in 2024, was why he hadn't performed like the other Cowboys' first-round offensive linemen over the years, such as Tyron Smith (2011), Travis Frederick (2013), Zack Martin (2014), Tyler Smith (2022) and even last year's first-rounder, Tyler Booker.
"It probably is a little bit unfair to a guy that's maybe seen as a developmental player that needs time to develop, to think that you're just going to throw him in there," offensive coordinator Klayton Adams said. "I can tell you from experience, just having Paris Johnson Jr. in Arizona, that he walked in as a top-10 pick and played pretty good as a rookie and played every game, but he was far from a finished product at the end of Year 1."
Quarterback Dak Prescott saw back in February that Guyton was preparing differently and did not think there would be a competition with Thomas, who was traded to the Texans before the season started.
"I think you look out there and you look at his style of play, the way that he believes in himself and prepares jumps out," Prescott said. "Credit for him to being a real pro, and he's a vocal guy throughout the game and a guy that I appreciate protecting [me]."
The timing could not be better for the Cowboys or Guyton. A decision on picking up his fifth-year option for 2028 has become easier with how he has played thus far. He could find himself in discussions on a long-term deal next offseason if the organization wants to go down that path.
Asked earlier in the season about Guyton, owner and general manager Jerry Jones said, "I'm not so sure it's not the highlight so far this year, because of his skill level."
Jones, a former collegiate offensive lineman, has always preached patience with fellow lineman, oftentimes citing former Cowboys coach Tom Landry's rule of not making a judgement on them until the third year.
"Now the dominance that we all knew was there, people are just seeing in public," Tyler Smith said. "So I think he deserves all the props in the world and that he's going to continue to get better week in and week out."