The recent signing of free agent La'el Collins has turned what was already considered one of the strongest NFL units, the Dallas Cowboys offensive line, into perhaps the strongest and the deepest individual position group in the entire league, meaning that even if one of the squad's top performers were to suffer some type of catastrophic injury, another key piece will be there to take his place and keep the road-grating machine rumbling right along.

Interestingly, the signing of Collins could potentially have even farther reaching effects on not just the Dallas offensive line, but the offense and really, the team as a whole, possibly in the shape of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson.

Bob Sturm of The Dallas Morning News, in answer to a fan's question about whether Collins' acquisition solidifies the Cowboys running game despite the lack of a high-level addition in the wake of DeMarco Murray's departure, had this to say...

"On one hand, you can argue that even a replacement level RB should have success with this line," writes Sturm. "And on the other hand, you could argue that by adding 3 1st rounders in the last week, they could afford to trade a 2016 premium pick to really get a star RB in here. I had been against paying for Peterson, but now, it is tough to ignore that an addition like that could be all that they are missing for a chance at the biggest of prizes."

Those "3 first-rounders" that Sturm is referencing are the team's actual pick in the 2015 NFL Draft's initial stanza, Byron Jones, the team's third-round pick, pass-rusher Randy Gregory, a player widely viewed as a top-10 talent who fell due to concerns over his mental makeup, and Collins, the former LSU tackle and a likely first-rounder who went undrafted due to an unfortunate set of circumstances involving the shooting death of his ex-girlfriend.

Sturm's logic here is questionable, considering Gregory is a combustible personality and there's not yet any certainty of how the three players will perform at the NFL level, but his reading of the tea leaves in terms of Dallas' purported interest in Peterson seems sound.

"I still think the chances aren't overwhelming and we really need to remember there are plenty of fish in the sea - with almost none of them costing as much as he will in both trade and salary," writes Sturm. "But, the smoke has been there for a long time and it would be foolish to fully rule it out. If he wants to be in Dallas, it would be up to him to convince the Vikings he has no intention of staying - such as no shows for all offseason and training camp activities. For that, the deal might not happen until August, so those who want this topic to go away are likely going to be annoyed."

Ironically, Cowboys COO Stephen Jones said during a conference call with season ticket holders on Friday that while the team is happy with the current makeup of their running back depth chart, they won't rule out the addition of another player - perhaps even once the season is already underway.

"That doesn't mean that we won't be adding a back before we go to camp or during camp or even during the season," Jones said, via HNGN. "I know a team that won a Super Bowl this year, the New England Patriots, that added a back [LeGarrette Blount] at the very end of the season and helped lead them to a Super Bowl. You never know when the right guy is going to be there. We happen to think the right guy may be on our football team as we speak."

While it's entirely possible that "the right guy" is Darren McFadden, Ryan Williams, Lance Dunbar or Joseph Randle, it seems unlikely.

In the end, as Sturm notes, Peterson's availability remains very much in the hands of the enigmatic ballcarrier and the Vikings brass, who have long maintained that they don't want to see him leave Minnesota.

Numerous reports emerged in the weeks leading up to the 2015 NFL Draft, though that Peterson could be had - the price tag just wasn't going to be palatable.

There's simply no doubting that Peterson's addition, as farfetched as it may seem, would immediately turn the Boys from a really good team into an elite one, likely to contend for a Lombardi Trophy.

If Jones and the Cowboys view Peterson as the missing piece to a Dallas Super Bowl puzzle that now includes a talented pass-rusher, Gregory, a top-flight cornerback, Jones, and a book end for Tyron Smith at tackle, Collins, then really, just about any price is worth paying.