Dallas Cowboys: La'el Collins Gets Chance to Start at Right Tackle
Who is going to start at right tackle for the Dallas Cowboys next season?
Observers believe Byron Bell and Chaz Green (if healthy) will have to compete for the starting role with Doug Free gone, but the Cowboys seem to have someone else in mind.
According to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News, left guard La'el Collins has been told by the coaching staff to concentrate on the right tackle position this offseason.
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The move makes a lot of sense. The Cowboys actually played him at right tackle during his rookie season in 2015 when Free was recovering from his offseason ankle surgery.
Collins was a projected first-round pick when he entered the 2015 draft, but he went undrafted after he was questioned by police following the murder of a pregnant woman he used to date. After the draft, the Cowboys decided to sign him and he has been a solid contributor since then.
Right now, Collins is making most of this opportunity.
"Oh, man, it's awesome actually. I actually forgot how good it felt to be out on the edge, to kind of be out there on an island. Right now we're not doing too much, just kind of working plays against the air. That's about it. But it feels good," Collins said, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
"I really feel like I can play anywhere. I have the mentality of I don't care where I'm at, whoever's in front of me I'm going to move them off the ball and that's how it's going to be. That's the way I feel," he continued.
With Collins changing positions to right tackle, new addition Jonathan Cooper should get the chance to start at left guard.
Collins will get his chance at right tackle, but some observers believe that he may only be playing there temporarily while Green is recovering from back surgery.
