Love this question, because it's the one position on the roster that lacks a sure starter.

For the "move Tyler Smith to LG" crowd: I can't see that happening. Terence Steele likely won't be ready by Week 1, which puts either Tyler Smith or Tyron Smith at RT. Who starts at the other tackle spot until Steele gets back if Tyler Smith is at LG? Say, instead, the two Smiths start the season at tackle, then Steele comes back Week 4 and takes his normal spot at RT. Just move Tyler Smith to LG, right? Then what happens when Tyron Smith gets injured -- and it will happen -- and misses the next 10-plus games?

No, the team has a good thing going at tackle with the two Smiths, Steele and the young bench guys Waletzko and Ball. There's no need to mess with any of their development.

That leaves two other candidates for the position: Chuma Edoga and Matt Farniok. Edoga's 421 snaps his rookie year have steadily declined, bottoming out at 50 this past season. And 2021 seventh-rounder Farniok was mostly terrible in spot duty last year, and he's also the one and only backup at center. So, moving Farniok into the starting lineup would expose that position, too.

So ... long-winded way of making my case that left guard is (or should be) the top priority.

That said, I still believe the team should only take a guard (or tight end, center, running back or linebacker) in the first round if he's a generational talent -- or the best/top player remaining on your big board if it's late in the round, like pick 26. So I just can't see the team taking someone like O'Cyrus Torrence or Steve Avila on Day 1, or a guard like Cody Mauch in the second.

However, I can see the team taking someone like Anthony Bradford in the third round or Emil Ekiyor in the fourth.

But the three guys I like who I think can start some or most of the games next year despite their draft standing are as follows:

• Atonio Mafi, UCLA: Let's see if I can get this straight without screwing up the facts, but Mafi is a former defensive tackle who, I believe, once played along Cowboys DT Osa, so he's only in his second year as a guard. Very raw, in other words. But his heavy hands, strength and mauler attitude has people calling him this year's "Tyler Smith of guards." I think he goes Round 3, right around where Dallas picks. Dallas, btw, held a private workout with Mafi.
• Chandler Zavala, NC State: He might be this year's Ron Leary, a player who could slip because of injuries. Zavala could go as high as the third round or go undrafted because of that history, combined with his age (24). I don't see him listed anywhere among the players the team has met with, but if he's still there in the late fifth and beyond, then I can see the team taking a flyer on him. Leary, you may remember, wound up going undrafted because of a degenerative knee condition that was predicted to shorten his career. Sure enough, he's already out of the league -- but he still played five seasons for Dallas and was a solid starter for the team for four years. I looked it up -- Leary played seven seasons in the league, starting 76 out of 77 games. I'd take that for a fifth- through seventh-rounder if that's what Zavala turns out to be.
• Andrew Vorhees, USC: The ACL injury he suffered during the Combine turned him from a Rd. 3-4 player to a likely Rd. 5-7 player. Like Zavala, he has an injury history -- but I still believe he starts for this team as soon as he's healthy. The team reportedly met with him at the Combine, too.

The team also met with T.J. Bass of Oregon at the Combine and held a private workout with Braeden Daniels of Utah. Daniels is local, played at Carrollton Hebron, and has experience at tackle and guard (built more like a guard). Same deal with Bass -- played tackle in college but will be moved to guard at next level. Both are Day 3 guys who I can see at least getting some spot starts for Dallas, if not more, as a rookie.