How Cowboys offensive linemen are maximizing their potential with NFL’s top OL guru in their own backyard

FRISCO, Texas — Quarterbacks taking their wide receivers, running backs and tight ends on bonding trips to build on- and off-field chemistry is one of the most common events in the NFL offseason calendar. These trips occur during the lull between mandatory minicamp ending in mid-June and training camp beginning in late-July. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has taken some of his offensive skill position teammates to places like San Diego, Lake Oconee in Georgia and Lake Oswego in Oregon. 

However, an offensive line’s chemistry and camaraderie is just as important. Luckily for Dallas’ offensive line, it can simply take a staycation in Frisco because the NFL’s preeminent offensive line training guru resides in their backyard: Duke Manyweather and his OL Masterminds program. 

“He’s all about the offensive line,” Cowboys left tackle Tyler Guyton told CBS Sports about Manyweather. “He’s O-line specific, so he’s created a foundation in a world where the offensive line is very relevant. We have specific training things there that can help us become better players. Also just the atmosphere, being around other guys that are in your position to play the same position for different teams. It’s just a good place to be for offensive linemen because of the camaraderie. The technique, the special devices that he uses to make his players better, things like that.”

Manyweather is a former Division II college football player who suited up at Humboldt State in California, but he had the awareness early on to realize his professional football future would be in coaching/training and not as an NFL player.

“I was an undersized offensive linemen and so from that, I really had to be clear on the things I can control,” Manyweather told CBS Sports. “That was the mind, body and craft. That was having the processing and knowing not only what I’m doing but what everybody else is doing on the field. That really perfected my technique and how hard I worked in the weight room. Those three tenants are what I built OL Masterminds around: mind, body and craft, because I think those are three things that take no real talent to master and to execute when guys are preparing.”

One of his first major clients happened to be Philadelphia Eagles six-time Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson, and Manyweather was watching NFL Network’s “NFL Top 100” reveal show back in 2018 to see where Johnson would land. On the episode he was watching, Manyweather saw Johnson say, “These defensive players are getting so, so good these days. We need to all get in a room and figure out how to stop these guys.” 

Manyweather immediately called Johnson to help organize their first offensive line summit over the course of two days to counter what Von Miller and the NFL’s top pass rushers do at their “Sack Summit.” 

Johnson and Manyweather ended up bringing in 27 offensive linemen to Frisco in summer of 2018, a gathering that included Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, New Orleans Saints Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen and former first-round offensive tackle D.J. Fluker. 

In addition to having the summit every offseason, Manyweather trains NFL offensive line clients all throughout the year, but the action really ramps up in the offseason when players are away from the facility. Top NFL offensive linemen seeing their peers in Manyweather’s facility is one of the things that excites them the most about his program.

“I think the training is good, but I really think that the guys who are there are just an invaluable resource. It’s undeniable,” Cowboys left guard Tyler Smith told CBS Sports. “Rashawn Slater, Terron Armstead. A lot of offensive guards like Zion Johnson, Trey Smith, Cesar Ruiz, Erik McCoy. All NFL starters, and they play at a high level. 

“Training amongst them, it’s good for me because I like to compete when I train. I like to go against and be around guys who play at an elite level. … Even just picking their brains, kind of figuring out some things they like to do because on the offensive line, you don’t have to hide secrets. It’s just us. … I think that’s a huge benefit for me.”

Slater, a two-time Pro Bowl left tackle for the Chargers, and Chiefs Pro Bowl right guard Trey Smith — both of whom are entering the final season of their rookie contracts in 2025 — opted to spend the spring with Manyweather and only report to their respective teams for mandatory minicamps.

“It’s really cool because it’s a brotherhood within the building. We’ve really created a collaborative environment that is built for problem solving and self-organizing. So when you get the entire Saints line, the entire Cowboys line, multiple guys off the Chiefs. These aren’t just guys fighting for a position. These are All-Pros and Pro Bowl guys. Trey Smith and Rashawn Slater are probably going to sign some of the biggest deals on Earth. … Trey Smith and Rashawn Slater stayed with me all the way up until [the] last week where they had mandatory minicamps because they believe in what we do here. I think it’s just a testament to their trust, but also the level of work.” — Duke Manyweather 

Manyweather’s credibility with the Cowboys organization runs deep and has been building for years, as he trained Jermey Parnell and Ronald Leary in the 2010s. But once seven-time first-team All-Pro right guard Zack Martin became a client, that’s when Manyweather became THE trainer of the Dallas offensive line. 

When Martin talks, the younger players listen, Manyweather said, and ever since Manyweather has been in lockstep with the front office and various offensive line coaches to maximize the unit’s potential.

“Since I’ve been in Dallas, late 2014, early 2015, they’ve had seven or eight offensive line coaches. To a level, I’ve been, and not to to my own horn, but like for many of these guys, I’ve been the beacon of stability for a lot of these guys for their career, including Zack.”

New Cowboys offensive line coach Conor Riley and assistant offensive line coach Ramon Chinyoung Sr. met with Manyweather in mid-June to come to an understanding of what Manyweather would work on with Dallas’ players when the coaches weren’t allowed to meet with them. 

“After about an hour of talking and walking through stuff, we’re on the same page,” Manyweather said. “We’re saying everything through one set of eyes. That’s just me being like ‘Hey, I don’t want your job, but allow me to continue to progress these guys as much as possible when you guys can’t in some of the downtime where coaches can’t work with players.’ So my job isn’t really to change anything that these guys are doing, but it’s to make these guys more effective and efficient in what they’re asked to do.”

Here is a look at what each of the Cowboys’ five projected starters are being asked to work on with Manyweather in their two-hour sessions, Monday through Friday, ahead of reporting to training camp in Oxnard, California, on July 21. 

• Area of focus: Posture, strength and balance in his stance

Tyler Guyton has been grinding all offseason to overcome what Tyler Smith labeled as a “tumultuous” rookie year for the 2024 first-round pick, altering his diet and being much more intentional about his training. He made the transition from right tackle at Oklahoma, where he protected left-handed quarterback Dillon Gabriel’s blindside in 2023, to protecting the right-handed Prescott’s blindside in 2024. 

Guyton played in 15 of the team’s 17 games and started 11 of them. Pro Football Focus graded Guyton as the NFL’s 73rd-best offensive tackle with an offensive grade of 49.4. He was also whistled for 14 penalties, a figure that was tied for the second-most in the league last season. 

Manyweather has worked with Guyton to reconfigure his posture and stance in order to provide the 6-foot-7, 322-pound behemoth with much more balance going forward. Increased balance could help Guyton cut down on the penalties because then he wouldn’t feel the need to get off the line of scrimmage in the rushed manner that he did as a rookie. 

“Posture all throughout the rep: stance, start and finish. Posture all throughout the rep: the way that you stand, the way that your weight is transitioned on your feet, where your lean is, things like that,” Guyton said. “Knee bed, ankle flexion. A bowed back, not being too relaxed and being somewhere in the middle where you’re comfortable, you can move and be quick and efficient.”

Working to build a new feeling for Guyton on the left side has been a focal point for Manyweather in his work with the 24-year-old.

“The big thing that I always told him and then also anybody changing to the opposite side: Don’t try to make this side feel like the side that you got all these reps on,” Manyweather said. “It’s going to feel different because it’s a different movement pattern. Like TG said, it’s really been the stance, the weight distribution and the posture. Being able to maintain the posture under load on that side. That’s really what we’ve been focusing on. Then, getting him to really understand that we got to reset the feet in order for the hands to be efficient and effective.”

Cowboys All-Quarter Century Team: Tony Romo, Dak Prescott, DeMarcus Ware, Jason Witten lead the way

Garrett Podell

• Area of focus: Getting off the ball quickly and establishing his first three steps to maximize leverage and power

Tyler Smith is the new leader of the Cowboys offensive line following the retirements of both Martin and eight-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith this offseason. He’s registered consecutive Pro Bowl appearances across his second and third NFL seasons after settling in at Dallas’ left guard spot. Smith’s 76.0 PFF pass-blocking grade in 2024 ranked as the ninth-best among guards in 2024.

“Our biggest thing is to be able to run off the ball, get the first three steps in the ground and allow him to use that leverage and power that he has because it’s pretty special. In pass pro, getting big jumps and being an aggressive setter; being able to end the fight early because there’s not too many people that are going to be able to get off of him,” Manyweather said. “It’s really been honing in on those things. Getting him to be more efficient with his change of direction and redirect, and I think that every single year, the concept has gotten more and more through to him.”

• Area of focus: More reps and better utilization of his off hand (the one that’s not snapping the ball)

Cooper Beebe, a 2025 third-round pick, predominantly played at guard in college at Kansas State, and he left college as the Big 12’s Offensive Lineman of the Year. As a rookie, the Cowboys moved him to center to replace Pro Bowler Tyler Biadasz, who departed to the Washington Commanders as a free agent last offseason. Beebe had an uneven rookie campaign but progressed as the year went on, finishing with a 65.4 PFF offensive grade in 2024, 15th-best among NFL centers.

The good news for Beebe is that Riley, Dallas’ new offensive line coach, was his position coach at Kansas State. Working with Riley and Manyweather and having another year at the position, he could make a leap. 

“Honestly, he was moved to center, and he really didn’t have any detailed coaching or development in-season or making that transition,” Manyweather said. “What he had was basically what we had worked on in the offseason and then I tried to give him as much of what I see during the season as possible. … I think it’s just Cooper being confident and making the transition to center about the small stuff. Being able to use the off hand, being able to tailor-make what your steps and targets need to be in the run game and pass protection for what a center needs to be versus all the time he spent at guard at Kansas State.”

• Area of focus: Cross-training to prepare for his switch from left guard to right guard

Manyweather and 2025 first-round pick Tyler Booker began working together when the latter was still at Alabama. Their focus is clear: get Booker ready to make the transition from college left guard to NFL right guard as Martin’s successor. 

“It’s been really fun to see his progress,” Manyweather said. “I thought he made a really, really big jump the last two years. … The thing about us, whether it’s Zack Martin, whether it’s a Terence [Steele], whether it’s Guyton, we always train to be a left side player and a right side player. So pre-draft, Tyler got a lot of work as a right side player and a left side player, and we will continue to do that.”

There’s also a sports science component to why Manyweather regularly cross-trains his linemen, even for players who aren’t making position switches. 

“When you train the other side you don’t play on, not only does it stimulate the brain and the motor development, but it makes your-non dominant side better as well. It eliminates any susceptibility to asymmetries, which can cause injury,” Manyweather said. “So what ends up happening is a guy plays on the left side his entire career, he’ll start to have repetitive, recurring injuries from having extreme internal rotation on the left side, and that’s shortening him on the right side. So we’re trying to train right and left as much as possible. I think that’s a really important aspect of a player’s health.”

• Area of focus: A more detailed approach to his handwork, as well as increased mobility 

Right tackle Terence Steele’s NFL journey has been a roller coaster. He went undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2020 and earned a starting job right away as a rookie. However, he tore his ACL and MCL late in the 2022 season, but the Cowboys gave him a five-year, $82.5 million contract extension anyways. 

His return from the knee injury the last two years (since 2023) has been rocky, especially in pass protection. Steele’s 94 quarterback pressures allowed since 2023 are the most in the NFL. However, his 78.9 PFF run-blocking grade last season was the 12th-best among tackles who played a minimum of 650 snaps.

“A lot of those numbers are skewed because we can go through PFF, and that’s a whole different conversation. What they call pressures doesn’t factor in quarterback movement and all that type of stuff,” Manyweather said. “It may appear that he’s charted for 94 pressures or whatever the f— it is, it ain’t that. Because if he had that many true pressures and gave up that many true sacks, they would have replaced him. I’ve had a conversation with PFF, me and a couple of players are actually working to change the way PFF kind of views things. Lane [Johnson] is involved in that as well as Terron Armstead.”

Steele is now working on getting back to a more detailed approach with his hands after former Cowboys offensive line coach Mike Solari emphasized physical traits over technique when working with Dallas’ right tackle. Specifically, Steele is focusing on improving his reactivity and change of direction and also using his hands strategically like he did in 2022.

“Mike Solari wanted him to do different things with his hands that I didn’t necessarily agree with, and that I didn’t think worked for Terence. I think late last year, you saw him get back to some of the timing with his hands that worked for him. I think that’s kind of what it’s going to be with Conor Riley this year. We’re on the same page with that. So really, I saw a big difference in Terrence’s movement in the spring, and I see a big difference already this summer, how he’s moving in terms of changing direction and really confident back on the knee.”