The Dallas Cowboys still have an abundance of wealth along the offensive line, even with the retirement of Travis Frederick. Truth be told, the center position hasn’t been elite in North Texas since the 2017 season, but left tackle Tyron Smith and right guard Zack Martin haven’t been left to fend for themselves, either.
On the contrary, the right tackle may have taken some years to reach the status, but in 2019 La’el Collins came into his own as a force of nature. In fact, he may have already surpassed Smith as the Cowboys’ best tackle. Who would have seen that coming?
Certainly not us at Cowboys Wire.
Up until his under-the-radar extension talks leading into September 2019, there was plenty of talk in these parts that Collins second contract would expire, and the Cowboys would be considering in-house options to hold the edge down. He was rewarded with financial security, and then turned around and rewarded Dak Prescott with one of the best offensive tackle performances in the league.
Collins finished the year as Pro Football Focus’ fifth-highest graded tackle and third-highest in run blocking. He didn’t make the Pro Bowl, but should have, as he finally fulfilled the promise shown back in his early years when he was bulldozing defenders.
Or when he was keeping pace with running backs 40 yards down the field.
Early Years
The 6-foot-4, 320-pound tackle out of LSU was initially moved inside after joining the Cowboys, but that wasn’t even close to the most difficult transition he had to make entering the league. Projected to be a first-round pick, his draft stock was submarined by a Louisiana police investigation. His ex-girlfriend was murdered, and he was considered a person of interest. He was never considered a suspect, but the mystery just a few days before the draft sent him plummeting.
After missing out on the first round and as teams passed on Day 2, his agent began working to ensure Collins would go undrafted, thus allowing him to choose his destination. Anyone unfamiliar with the salesman that is Jerry Jones, learned for the final time in 2015. Jones, with help from quarterback Tony Romo, Smith, Martin and Frederick, wined, dined and wooed Collins and his mother, signing the Bayou Bengal as a UDFA.
As a rookie with veteran Doug Free was entrenched at right tackle, Collins career started in a reserve role. He didn’t get onto the field until left guard Ron Leary struggled through the first part of the season and Jason Garrett made the switch. He played well enough to earn the job going into 2016 and made a handful of highlight plays in a disappointing season.
The following year, Collins struggled out the gate. A foot injury landed him on injured reserve but his play was suffering before then. Leary got his job back, parlayed the opportunity to excel on a 13-3 team into a Pro Bowl appearance and a hefty contract with the Denver Broncos.
The following year, Free retired and Collins returned to his collegiate position of tackle.
Collins began his return and his ascent.
Contract Killer
After dropping from the first round he was projected to be drafted in, Collins lost out on a ton of guaranteed money and five years of team control. If he had been taken later in the draft, Collins would have a lot less money and been stuck for four years. As a UDFA, he signed just a three-year deal, worth just over $1.5 million total with a $21,000 signing bonus.
Jones and the Cowboys made him whole, though.
After just two years the Cowboys extended Collins another two years, for $15.4 million. The total compensation across the five seasons was equal to what Collins would have made as a first-round pick.
The move to right tackle came next as Collins took over for a retired Free and started to reclaim the glory. His 2017 grades bounced back a bit, reaching his rookie level after the small sample size of the prior year. Considering the staunch competition he faced, his performance was more than acceptable. Jason Pierre-Paul, Chandler Jones, Robert Quinn, Ryan Kerrigan and Justin Houston all lined up across the youngster.
In 2018 he continued to improve, bringing his PFF grade up from 63.3 to 71.9. Still, the amount of penalties he incurred (11) and sacks allowed (8) brought into question whether or not he was going to be a long-term solution.
The Cowboys had drafted Texas’ Connor Williams in the second round the previous April and converted him to guard, but there were whispers he had received a similar promise as Collins had, that he would eventually be moved to tackle.
Williams didn’t have the functional strength to impress as a rookie though, so it was hard to consider he may be moved initially. The drafting of Connor McGovern in 2019’s third round brought flexibility back into the fold in a “best five lineman” approach, with Collins entering the final year of his extension.
Until it wasn’t his final year anymore.
The Cowboys and Collins killed another contract, agreeing to a new, five-year extension right before the 2019 season kicked off. The additional years brought Collins an additional $50 million and locked him in through 2024, bringing him in line with the other fixtures in the group.
Smith is signed through 2023, Martin through 2024. Before his retirement, Frederick was inked through 2023 as well. The group was primed to protect Dak Prescott’s front side, blind side and front side through the QBs next contract, with whichever of the Connor’s emerged as the best candidate at LG.
Before the season, though, Collins was seen as the weakest of the four fixtures. No longer.
Hitman
A lot of players tend to fall off in their production after they receive a big deal. That wasn’t the case for Collins at all. He went from good to great in a hurry during 2019. He started off with back-to-back shutouts, not allowing a single hurry, hit or QB sack against New York or against Washington. Say what you want about Washington’s overall team, but their defensive front is a powerhouse and shutting them out is no small feat.
Collins would have four shutouts on the season, only allowing two sacks all year according to PFF. His penalty rate also dropped, plummeting from 11 to 5, meaning that the sacks allowed was truly a function of better technique.
The Cowboys messed with a good thing when it came to their OL coaching. For the first half of 2018, Paul Alexander was the coach, and he brought with him a bunch of different teaching techniques that screwed with the entire group on the way to 56 sacks allowed for the season.
Collins suffered more than any of the other lineman, unable to change over after having just shifted back to tackle brain one year prior. When Marc Colombo took over for Alexander midseason, the switch went on for Collins and that improvement continued into the 2019 season.
It wasn’t just pass blocking, either.
Ezekiel Elliott rushed for a full yard more per carry running to right tackle as opposed to left tackle; 4.06 to 3.06. Two of Elliott’s three 30+-yard runs went to the right side where Collins patrols.
While Collins missed the majority of his second season with injury, he’s played through a lot of nicks and bruises without them taking him out of the lineup. He’s missed just one game in the last three seasons, Week 6 of last year.
With Smith missing three games a year annually, and with Collins improved play in 2019, it stands to reason he’s the club’s 1A offensive tackle, despite playing on the right side.
This is part of our Countdown to the Regular Season player profile countdown. Up next is LG Zack Martin.
| Antwaun Woods | Tyrone Crawford | Trysten Hill | Jalen Jelks |
| Dontari Poe | Randy Gregory | Gerald McCoy | Dorance Armstrong |
| L.P. Ladouceur | DeMarcus Lawrence | Blake Jarwin | CeeDee Lamb |
| Cole Hikutini | Dalton Schultz | Noah Brown | Sean McKeon |
| Ventell Bryant | Jon’vea Johnson | Blake Bell | Justin Hamilton |
| Cody Wichmann | Tyron Smith | Ladarius Hamilton |
| Neville Gallimore | Terence Steele | Joe Looney |
[vertical-gallery id=649716][lawrence-newsletter]