The Dallas Cowboys' first overall pick from this spring's NFL Draft is quietly becoming one of the best rookies in the league.
Sometimes as an NFL fan, it's not a bad thing if an offensive lineman falls under your radar as you watch a game. If you aren't hearing about them, it may mean that they are doing their job well - protecting the quarterback, not committing penalties and being a steady force within the wall of the offensive line.
That's often been the case for Tyler Booker, the Dallas Cowboys' first-round draft pick who has quietly become one of the NFL's best rookies this season.
The right guard has started each game he's played in in his inaugural season, joining a young group that includes second-year linemen Cooper Beebe and Tyler Guyton, newly-extended Tyler Smith and five-year veteran Terence Steele.
Within the flow of a game, Booker's name might rarely get mentioned in this high-powered Cowboys offense, but his stats defend what has been a stellar rookie campaign. He ranks as the 16th highest-rated guard among all qualified linemen, according to Pro Football Focus grades.
The No. 12 pick is the highest-rated rookie offensive lineman in this class. He has allowed the least amount of pressures (16) among rookie linemen and has given up just one sack.
The Cowboys may be surprised to some extent by this immediate production, but they likely aren't surprised about the personality that's joined the team. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer was reportedly "banging on the table" for high-character prospects who demonstrated leadership traits in college.That describes "Book" to a tee.
In fact, with the Alabama Crimson Tide - fondly referred to as one of college football's marquee programs - Booker's leadership was a thing of legend. The three-year starter was described as one of the most emotional and vocal leaders not just in the offensive line room, but the entire locker room.
Upon joining the Cowboys, Booker knew to ease into that style.
“I never wanted to be the rookie that came in here, talking a whole bunch on the first day when I didn’t really know what it means to be a Cowboy,” Booker said this week to the Dallas Morning News.
Now he's ready for his voice to be heard.
"To this point, I feel like I have a better understanding of what it means to be a Cowboy and a pro.”
Schottenheimer has reportedly challenged Booker to be more vocal with his teammates, and the immediate result is exactly what you might've expected. Against elite defensive tackle competition such as the Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Carter and the Kansas City Chiefs' Chris Jones, Booker was nothing short of dominant.
He allowed a combined two pressures and no sacks. Of course, those games both ended in wins for Dallas to extend its winning streak to three games and regain optimism for a late-season surge toward the playoffs.
That word "dominant" is what has been Booker's anchor throughout this impressive rookie season.
“Dominate, you leave no doubt in your opponent’s mind,” Booker said about his mentality. “You play some games and it’ll be like, ‘Oh, you guys only won because of this. You guys only won because of that.’ When you dominate, you want to leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that you were victorious for a reason. I don’t only want to win, I want to dominate. It just pushes you further.”
There aren't many more respected people within that locker room than the longest tenured Cowboy, Dak Prescott, whom Booker blocks for on a snap-by-snap basis. Even QB1 has recognized the rookie's influence rubbing off on the rest of the team.
“I know when he came in as a rookie or was drafted, he was already barking about those matchups [with players such as Carter],” Prescott said. “To now be on the back side of some of those, and for him to have played as well as he has and backed up his talk, that’s as impressive as anything.”
"You should hear the guy in the huddle. You should hear him before the game,” Prescott added. “His mentality, the way that he wants to dominate - he says that a lot - it's like no other.”
Above all, it's the coaching staff that continues offering as much glowing endorsement of the budding star as was given when he was drafted. Schottenheimer has stated that Booker's strong play "must continue" for the Cowboys to be successful.
“Just what we thought we were getting when we drafted him: a freakin’ dawg,” offensive coordinator Klayton Adams said about his reaction to Booker's recent work. “He’s very confident and his confidence is built the right way and it’s built on his experiences and doing things right, rather than just being a guy built on ego or something like that. He is really built the right way.”
More specifically, Booker is built to dominate, even when you may not recognize it in real time on the field.
That's a good thing, and things only expected to get better.