La el Collins RT / OG

[erod]

My gut is, Collins will be significantly better than Free, and only marginally better than Leary. Still, guard is an easier transition for college players, so it'll be interesting to see what they do.

Don't rule out a trade of Free or Leary, too, as part of a package for a certain running back that will remain nameless.

 

[speedkilz88]

My gut is, Collins will be significantly better than Free, and only marginally better than Leary. Still, guard is an easier transition for college players, so it'll be interesting to see what they do.

Don't rule out a trade of Free or Leary, too, as part of a package for a certain running back that will remain nameless.

I doubt the Vikings would have interest in Free. But it would be nice if a team with an injury was desperate enough to offer a 3rd or 4th for him.

 

[xwalker]

• • Zack Martin
    
  • 6'4" Height
  • 32 7/8" Arm Length
  • 308LBS. Weight
  • 9 1/2" Hands
  • Bottom Line
    Athletic, smart, competitive, dependable college left tackle whose length dictates a move inside, where he has plug-and-play ability in a zone-blocking scheme. One of the cleanest prospects in this year's draft.
  
  
• La'el Collins
  
• 6'4" Height
• 33 1/4" Arm Length
• 305LBS. Weight
• 10 3/8" Hands
• Bottom Line
  Brawling right tackle or guard prospect in the NFL who has had a level of success in hyper-competitive SEC West. Lacks athleticism to be a consistent left tackle, despite his snaps there in college. Collins plays with a mean streak that is evident in every game, and could come in and start right away in a power-running game as a guard. Collins has a first-round grade, but with the ongoing investigation into the death of his ex-girlfriend Mills unresolved at the time of the draft, no one would be surprised if he went undrafted.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2012/profiles/zack-martin?id=2543480
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/la'el-collins?id=2552361

Unfortunately, there does not seem to be any sites that record Wingspan anymore. I just remember that despite shorter arms, Pugh had a larger wingspan than Martin. I can't find the Wingspan for Collins, but based on appearance, I would estimate his wingspan to be much bigger.

 

[AsthmaField]

Collins has not played the Right Side. He needs practice reps there if he if going to be considered for the Swing Tackle position. As a rookie he needs to focus on Guard or Tackle in training camp.

If he is that great, then he should be able to push Free for the starting position.

IMO, they only have Collins focus on Guard if Weem/Green look spectacular OR they have Martin train as the backup OT in training camp. I'm certain that will have Martin cross train at a 2nd position, but I would prefer to see him become the backup Center option. If Martin could serve as the game-day backup Center, then Bernadeau could be inactive which would allow them to have Leary, Collins and Green/Weems active.

They want Free to start, IMO. He's very solid, very smart and the leader of the best line in Football. They signed the guy already, so the money is spent in large part, and he is a real asset in the mind of the Cowboys coaches. They may eventually want Collins to start at RT, but I don't think they want him pushing Free to the bench this year. Wouldn't be best for the on field talent, and it wouldn't be best for the Chemistry of that line.

I think they'd much rather him push Leary down and worry about the long term later.

Garrett said he wants the best 5 on the field and in their eyes, Free is one of those 5.

 

[BAZ]

Start the best 5 guys, whoever that turns out to be.

I see you are not a people person.

 

[xwalker]

My gut is, Collins will be significantly better than Free, and only marginally better than Leary. Still, guard is an easier transition for college players, so it'll be interesting to see what they do.

Don't rule out a trade of Free or Leary, too, as part of a package for a certain running back that will remain nameless.

They have much better backup depth with Free and Leary on the team unless Green or Weems show up in a specular fashion in training camp. With Romo's health being the team #1 concern, backup OL depth is critical.

 

[AsthmaField]

They have much better backup depth with Free and Leary on the team unless Green or Weems show up in a specular fashion in training camp. With Romo's health being the team #1 concern, backup OL depth is critical.

Yeah, I seriously doubt they'd trade Free unless someone just knocked their socks off.

This kind of trade is one that fans, always, always talk about and almost never ever happens in the NFL.

 

[Stash]

I doubt the Vikings would have interest in Free. But it would be nice if a team with an injury was desperate enough to offer a 3rd or 4th for him.

I have no interest in seeing a Super Bowl contender sacrifice quality depth for a 2016 promissory note.

 

[Stash]

They want Free to start, IMO. He's very solid, very smart and the leader of the best line in Football. They signed the guy already, so the money is spent in large part, and he is a real asset in the mind of the Cowboys coaches. They may eventually want Collins to start at RT, but I don't think they want him pushing Free to the bench this year. Wouldn't be best for the on field talent, and it wouldn't be best for the Chemistry of that line.

I think they'd much rather him push Leary down and worry about the long term later.

Garrett said he wants the best 5 on the field and in their eyes, Free is one of those 5.

He absolutely is, and the money proves it. The Cowboys had the option of keeping either Free or Parnell or neither one. And they made their decision. They chose Free and paid him a multi-year contract.

And what did they do with Ron Leary? They gave him a one-year tender offer.

It's not hard to see where the Cowboys place their value, just follow the money.

 

[speedkilz88]

Unfortunately, there does not seem to be any sites that record Wingspan anymore. I just remember that despite shorter arms, Pugh had a larger wingspan than Martin. I can't find the Wingspan for Collins, but based on appearance, I would estimate his wingspan to be much bigger.

OT Martin, Zack Notre Dame 6'4 1/8 305 9 3/4 32 1/4 76 7/8
http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/1/20/5327616/2014-senior-bowl-player-measurements-released

I found La'el is around 82" wingspan. Looking for something more concrete.

Fellow analyst Charles Davis also was impressed, though he said, "I'm thinking he's a guard." Davis compared Collins (6-4 1/2, 305, with an 82-inch wingspan)
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...randon-scherff-will-be-first-olineman-drafted

 

[xwalker]

They want Free to start, IMO. He's very solid, very smart and the leader of the best line in Football. They signed the guy already, so the money is spent in large part, and he is a real asset in the mind of the Cowboys coaches. They may eventually want Collins to start at RT, but I don't think they want him pushing Free to the bench this year. Wouldn't be best for the on field talent, and it wouldn't be best for the Chemistry of that line.

I think they'd much rather him push Leary down and worry about the long term later.

Garrett said he wants the best 5 on the field and in their eyes, Free is one of those 5.

Again, my concern is not about him beating out Free in 2015. My concern is that Parnell played 5 regular season games and both playoff games last season. Free had 2 ankle surgeries in a 1 year time frame and is now 31. My concern is finding the very best backup OT possible. Green or Weems need to look terrific if the Cowboys are going to have Collins replace Leary.

IMO, if they have Collins focus on LG in training camp, then he won't be ready to play OT if Free is injured again. I don't think they could just move Leary back to LG and move Collins out to Tackle in that scenario.

 

[xwalker]

OT Martin, Zack Notre Dame 6'4 1/8 305 9 3/4 32 1/4 76 7/8
http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/1/20/5327616/2014-senior-bowl-player-measurements-released

I found La'el is around 82" wingspan. Looking for something more concrete.

Thanks. Good work.

A 76-7/8" wingspan is really small for an NFL OT.

 

[Hawkeye19]

Collins will be the left guard for years to come, Gibson and Green will be battling for the future at right tackle/swing tackle, not Collins

Yah-- this makes sense. Green and Gibson both are athletic and intelligence to replace Free. I like Collins at LG more than Leary for sure.

 

[daveferr33]

I think Xwalker makes very good points.

However, my position on Collins is the same as it was last season with Martin. I believe you maximize the talent you have. Just like last season with regard to Martin, everything I read says Collins will be a great guard and could be a good right tackle.

You play him at the position that maximizes his talents. In this case that is left guard.

 

[erod]

Yah-- this makes sense. Green and Gibson both are athletic and intelligence to replace Free. I like Collins at LG more than Leary for sure.

Leary was above average at least last year.

 

[erod]

Here's the problem:

Garrett said he wants to play the best five. If that is the case, that will likely be Smith, Frederick, Martin, Leary, and Collins.

So now where does every body play?

 

[AsthmaField]

Again, my concern is not about him beating out Free in 2015. My concern is that Parnell played 5 regular season games and both playoff games last season. Free had 2 ankle surgeries in a 1 year time frame and is now 31. My concern is finding the very best backup OT possible. Green or Weems need to look terrific if the Cowboys are going to have Collins replace Leary.

IMO, if they have Collins focus on LG in training camp, then he won't be ready to play OT if Free is injured again. I don't think they could just move Leary back to LG and move Collins out to Tackle in that scenario.

There obviously are many ways this could go. One that I've kind of thought possible since we signed La'el is:

Play Collins at LG and RT through camp with the thought that he will win the LG spot. Train Green or Weems as the swing tackle for game days.

Then, let's say Free gets a high ankle sprain and will miss 5 weeks. During the game that he gets hurt, Green comes in and finishes the game at RT. However, that week of practice, they could get Collins ready to start at RT and Leary ready to go in at guard. Teams do things like that all the time. All you would have to worry about Green for is part of 1 game.

Now, the thing is, the team would have to give Collins pretty significant snaps at RT during camp to have the transition go pretty smoothly... but it is something they could do.

I do think Collins is smart enough and talented enough for this very scenario.

 

[Irvin88_4life]

That's an over-simplification of the issue. Obviously he will eventually be a starter. Even Erik Williams was not a full time starter as a rookie.

The issue is that the Cowboys could be in big trouble if they have Collins starting at LG and Green or Weems can't handle being the backup OT. On the flip side, if the have Collins training at OT and he does not beat out Free for game 1, then they still have lowered the risk with Collins as as the backup OT over Green/Weems.

Collins can be starter at LG, Free goes down move Collins to RT and you still have Berny that can play all 3 interior spots

 

[Hawkeye19]

Leary was above average at least last year.

Collins is better

 

[Kaiser]

He absolutely is, and the money proves it. The Cowboys had the option of keeping either Free or Parnell or neither one. And they made their decision. They chose Free and paid him a multi-year contract.

But they made the decision knowing Parnell was going to get a bigger contract than Free. They didn't know Parnell would get twice what Free would take, but they had to know it would be at least 50% more than Free would sign for.

Free is one of the best five, the question is his health.