Player Spotlight: Oklahoma Offensive Tackle Tyler Guyton

Position: Offensive Tackle

Age (Draft Day): 22

Height: 6'8''

Weight: 322 lbs

40 yard dash: 5.19sec

Background

Tyler Guyton played on the defensive line at Manor High School and was awarded a three-star recruit rating. Looking to play for his local school, Guyton enrolled with TCU in 2020. In his freshman year, Guyton played four snaps in one game for the Horned Frogs but not on defense, at left tackle. Guyton was redshirted immediately after the game. The next year, Guyton again played snaps at left tackle and at H-back, but after the season ended Guyton entered the transfer portal and joined Oklahoma.

At Oklahoma, Guyton was made a starter at the beginning of the season after Wanya Morris had to miss time due to a suspension and Guyton played in nine games for the Sooners. Then in 2023, Guyton was made full-time starter at right tackle and started in nine games for Oklahoma. He missed time due to injury but came back to finish the season. Guyton spent two seasons at Oklahoma and played 1,064 snaps with 546 of those on passing plays. He allowed 16 pressures and two sacks in that time.

Strengths

Tremendous size: Guyton is a mountain for pass rushers to try and traverse. His wide base and huge wingspan means rushers have to use a wide arc from the moment the ball is snapped. His size also helps him as a push-blocker which is something he’s very good at. He can put that weight down with good knee bend which makes him impossible to bull-rush or forklift.

Elite athlete: As mentioned, his size is extremely imposing and with size usually comes with issues with athleticism, but not with Guyton. It’s clear his time playing as a defensive end has had an effect as he moves with quick and light feet and has elite burst and speed off the line. His explosiveness is maybe his best trait and is arguably the best in this year’s draft class. Thanks to his elite athleticism, Guyton can stay mobile with quick feet and that becomes the primary reason he’s able to stay well-balanced. 

Strong hands: His grip strength is incredible and when he gets his hands on a defender it’s pretty much game over for his opponent. He also has a very powerful punch that will stun and stop rushers in their tracks. Given he’s so efficient at getting off the line quickly and has very good length, it’s easy to see why his punches are so effective.

Weaknesses

Experience: The biggest issue facing Guyton which is also the main reason for all of his shortcomings is his playtime. He has 14 starts in four years of college football and apart from a small handful of snaps at left tackle, the majority of his snaps were taken at right tackle. This begs the question how he translates at other positions on the line. 

Hand placement: Although he has powerful hands that will eliminate pass rushers, his hand placement can be mistimed or off-target. When he strikes defenders bodies they land inconsistently and too high. As a run blocker, his hand placement issues show up when at the point of attack and will lose leverage. 

Inconsistent Footwork: Having not played much at the tackle position it’s understandable why Guyton has not picked up the finer nuances of foot placement and technique. On his kick-slides you often see him take shallow angles due to poor footwork and he relies on his speed and quickness to recover. Against faster pass rushers this can lead him into trouble and in the NFL where speed rushers are abundant this could be a big issue. There’s no issue with his foot speed, it’s more of an understanding on how to react and where to move his feet. 

NFL Comparison: Jason Peters

Jason Peters went undrafted in 2004 to the Buffalo Bills to play tight end. It took a move to the Philadelphia Eagles to unlock his potential and Andy Reid called him the “best left tackle in football”. The way Peters won was through his speed and explosiveness tied with his size and length. This led to Peters being nominated to nine Pro Bowls, six All-Pro honors, a Super Bowl ring and being named to NFL’s 2010 All-Decade Team.

NFL Draft Outlook: First Round Pick

Tyler Guyton is a high-ceiling and low-floor prospect. The elite athleticism and tremendous size makes him an extremely enticing prospect. His final year in Oklahoma proved he has high level traits worth taking early in the draft and any team taking him will be taking on his mauler type skills to add as a starter immediately to their line. Coaching is key for Guyton due to his lack of playing experience which will help his ability to deal with speeds rushers on the outisde. His questions of being able to play left tackle would be up to teams to test during private workouts as the tape is rare to find on him playing on the left. Regardless, the production is visible and finding a linemen of this size with such high levels of speed and explosiveness is as rare as they come.