Houston Texans’ defensive end J.J. Watt is a superstar, to such a degree that he’s being talked about in early MVP discussions. He won’t win, in all likelihood, but just being mentioned as a defensive player says plenty.
But the Dallas Cowboys and head coach Jason Garrett remain happy with their decision to select left tackle Tyron Smith with the 9th overall pick in the 2011 draft, two picks before Houston selected Watt.
The pick of Smith set in motion a total overhaul of the Dallas offensive line.
“Certainly that first pick was critical for us,” Garrett said, per ESPN Dallas. “We had let three veteran offensive linemen go and we were really young and under-resourced there and we felt like we needed to get some cornerstone players.
“We were fortunate that Tyron Smith was coming out that year. We felt he could be a left tackle and be a cornerstone player for us for a long time. Remember, he was only 20 years old at the time and he was coming out early and we just felt like he had all of the traits to be a great, great player for a long time at a really important position.”
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