27 OCT 2014: Former Dallas Cowboys Brady James (56) and Larry Allen (73) just prior to the NFL Monday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. (Photo by Andrew Dieb/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Dallas Cowboys rookie Tyler Smith will get a special jersey number.
The Cowboys have given No. 73 to their first round NFL Draft pick. The No. 73 was worn by franchise great Larry Allen, one of the most-dominant NFL offensive linemen of all time.
Smith is too young to have watched Allen play, but he’s very familiar with his legacy.
“I’m a younger guy, so Larry Allen is before my time, but I caught on (to how good Allen was),” Smith said per Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Larry Allen wore that number, and I’ve seen a lot of the adversity he went through early in his life, and I feel like I resonate with a lot of that. It means a lot to be able to wear that and carry on that legacy.”
The Cowboys have very high hopes for Smith, who was drafted in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
If he can be even half as good as Allen was, the Cowboys will be in great shape.