News: What does the La’el Collins contract extension tell us about the future of the Dallas Cowboys?

[Bullflop]

In short, it's obvious that our OL and it's long-term positive prospects are not something guaranteed to please. We're scraping close to less than the top of the barrel for those who might afford us effective help in a sudden emergency. Nevertheless, as long as our current incumbents hold true to their health, we're golden. If not, we'll be rocking along as best we can. And so it goes. We'll see if our backup help "feeds the bulldog," if need be.

 

[Direwolf63]

With the spread of spread offenses in college, the o-lineman being drafted these days are simply not ready to play in the NFL. They are not good at run blocking, pulling and other fundamentals required.

If you look at the bottom half of the league, most teams have very poor offensive lines. And college ball is simply not producing enough quality lineman to replace them.

So when you have good lineman, you have to keep them and pay them. Collins is not a great RT. But there are so few out there, be it the NFL or college, that it made sense for the Cowboys to pay him.

 

[75boyz]

With the spread of spread offenses in college, the o-lineman being drafted these days are simply not ready to play in the NFL. They are not good at run blocking, pulling and other fundamentals required.

If you look at the bottom half of the league, most of them have very poor offensive lines. And college ball are not producing enough quality lineman to replace them.

So when you have good lineman, you have to keep them and pay them. Collins is not a great RT. But there are so few out there, be it the NFL or college, that it made sense for the Cowboys to pay him.

Spot on bro. This is the reality of o line play in the NFL. Well said.

 

[PhillyCowboysFan]

I read a lot of “Maybe’s” in this article. Well let me give a maybe. Maybe the signing just mean that they want to keep this group together. SMDH!

 

[CT Dal Fan]

I hate to say it, but maybe the Cowboys have long term concerns about left tackle Tyron Smith's back.

Maybe they see Connor Williams as Smith's successor. That's why they kept La'el Collins to play RT and Connor McGovern can play LG in the future.

 

[DFWJC]

Broaddus just said Collins would get 3 - 5 mil more per year on the open market.

Says he badly wanted to stay here and jumped at chance to get paid now

 

[DEA_dad]

Fleming is a $4.5m savings next year if released.

Wouldn't be surprised to see CWill taking snaps at RT next camp to see if he's competent, while competing at LG. If he wins LG and can play RT well enough, he'll slide out if Collins misses time. McGovern would be LG, C, RG depth with possibly Looney and whoever else in that case.

Cap isn't going to be that big a problem. Dallas wants to secure the OL with talent, with a young Dak, and what looks to be a young #1 WR with decent depth there and a young #1 RB, and I don't really blame them. There's worse ways to spend money and to save premium picks for defense. Otherwise, what were we going to do at RT? Keep Fleming at $5m cap hit, see if CWill can play it, otherwise spend a 2-3 round pick on a RT and hope for the best? Tackle is now a premium position. Saints and Eagles both have 1st round picks at RT, yeah Lane Johnson will move to LT but he's also going to get $20million+ a year.

If you can get a good deal in the trenches, especially for a 26 year old lineman, you'd be pretty stupid not to take it. Especially if it saves you picks.

What it says about Dallas is, we want to put the best OL we can on the field in the trenches, with young talent at QB, RB, and WR. And we'll be using our premium picks on defense, locking up guys we think are cornerstones on defense instead of signing everyone. But, using premium picks to replenish instead. There's always give and take, but it's not a bad strategy.

I'd also put $$ on the cap going up pretty significantly every year from 2021 forward. It'll at least be an improvement on the $8-10million now. I'd say it's more likely to go up about $40million by the 2022 offseason.

Great post! Tackle has always been a premium position but with the evolution of edge rushers it appears they’re inflating on the market quicker than most positions. No better an example than Tunsil and how Houston gave up 3 premium picks for him and will still have to pay him. If Collins has even an average year this season and hit FA next offseason he would have quite a few bidders. Smart move by the organization.

 

[MCMetal69]

Eagles draft they're future LT in Dillard this year!

Make sure no one farts near Carson Putz , or he will shatter......................

 

[Silver N Blue]

It tells me they are going to continue running the ball and wearing the opponent out.

 

[atlantacowboy]

Maybe the health of the offensive line is a little more concerning that we realize
Tyron Smith is dealing with a bad back. Sure, he’s only 28-years-old, but let’s not forget that he’s been in the league since he was 20, so he’s put a lot of mileage on that body. Eight years spent with the league’s most powerful edge rushers pound on you can be very jarring on that back. He has missed three games in each of the last three seasons, and it wouldn’t shock anyone if he misses time again this season. The Cowboys are already mindful of that, which is why swing tackle Cameron Fleming received the second-biggest contract of any of their free agent signings this offseason.

If the team has concerns about Smith’s health, they could be leaving the door open for a possible exit strategy. Even though Smith does have five years left on his contract, his dead money hit drops to $5.2 M after this season and just $1.7 M the year after that.

Nobody wants to think about life without Smith, but if you look at all the recent decisions the team has made regarding the offensive line, something’s a bit askew. The team went super heavy at offensive line for their final roster, including hanging on to undrafted free agent Brandon Knight, who just so happens to be able to play tackle. And one of their practice squad players is UDFA Mitch Hyatt. The team is making sure they have tackle depth.

Maybe the decision to keep Collins has nothing to do with Smith specifically, but just the collective concern of their star linemen in general. Zack Martin is also dealing with a back issue. His was bad enough that he was shelved for training camp to allow him more time to heal. Should Martin become unavailable, that means they would need to call on that interior line depth to help out. That could foil their chance to move Connor Williams outside to cover for La’el if Williams is needed inside. Keeping Collins on the roster means they’d no longer have to worry about moving Williams, who will hopefully show great improvement at the left guard position this year. Securing their talent along the offensive line is great, but doesn’t it comes with a cost?


https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/201...ell-us-about-the-future-of-the-dallas-cowboys

So, we need to double down on an underachieving RT by making him one of the highest paid at his position ? I get doubling down on a strength, but Collins has been a weak link.

The future is cap hell.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Get Maliek Collins signed (6-8m AAV, five years) and Antwaun Woods (should only be 3m AAV, 3-4 years) and we're fine after that. I'm ok with losing Byron Jones and Anthony Brown (a jag) next year. That position is much more replaceable than OL and DL. The best way to win in the NFL is with a strong OL and DL.

Aren’t you a Eagles fan?

 

[darthseinfeld]

Broaddus just said Collins would get 3 - 5 mil more per year on the open market.

Says he badly wanted to stay here and jumped at chance to get paid now

That is kind of wild. Although I could definitely see that being accurate.

My opinion is we Collins resigned for what he is worth

 

[Altestic]

Aren’t you a Eagles fan?

Cowboys fan first and foremost. Grew up a Cowboys fan disliking the Eagles. Didn't start getting a positive opinion of the Birds until my half brothers on my dad's side called me in January 2017 (they're in the Philadelphia metro area, where I was conceived but not born; I grew up in San Antonio, TX) and that was fresh off the heart-gash of the Jared Cook catch on 3rd and 20 so I started welcoming the birds into my heart. And guess what those Birds did for me the very next year? No less than win a ring. Seemed like serendipity to me.