5 Dallas Cowboys who will make or break the 2023 season

4. Tyler Smith, OT/OG

Dallas sometimes can't get out of their own way — and the way they've handled the offensive line over the past two years is a perfect example. Despite knowing Tyron Smith hasn't played a full season since 2015, they went into 2022 with no proven depth behind him and then had rookie Tyler Smith spend all of training camp at left guard.

Unsurprisingly, the elder Smith went down before the season began and they went into full panic mode. Thankfully, Tyler Smith bailed them out as he proved capable of moving back to tackle at the drop of a hat. Predictably, they learned nothing and will now head into 2023 expecting Tyron Smith to play tackle again and they want to keep the younger Smith at tackle as well.

This means Terence Steele is potentially going to be a backup — which is a terrible plan since he was their best tackle a year ago.

It appears cooler heads have prevailed and they're likely to move Tyler Smith to guard again, although this was also likely due to poor planning. With no other options at guard, they're going to need Smith to step in out of necessity again. Then, when Tyron Smith gets injured (sorry, but he probably will), he's going to be moved.

Dallas has done a poor job planning on the line and they're going to once again ask too much of their first-round pick from 2022. If he lives up to the unfair expectations, that's great. If not, it could be a tough year.