La'el Collins Moves to Left Guard

With Doug Free recovering from offseason foot surgery, Cowboys rookie offensive lineman La’el Collins spent the first week of OTAs at right tackle. This week, he moved to left guard, which seems more likely to be his position when the season begins.

For Collins, who made no secret of the fact that his move to the right side took some adjusting, left guard brings a certain comfortability.

“You’re right there with down linemen, so everything is a lot quicker, which is good for me,” Collins said, per the Dallas Morning News. “I feel like that is part of one of my strengths, being able to get on guys quick is an advantage.”

Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett has been full of praise for Collins, but it goes without saying that he’s going to struggle at times, as a rookie going through his first offseason in the NFL.

“He’s done a good job,” Garrett said. “He’s played both tackle and guard for us, like we had talked about coming out. He’s done some good things at tackle, he’s done some good things at guard. He’s learning, he’s a young player, and he’s four practices into his NFL career. He hasn’t done a whole lot, and we do a lot in terms of installation every week.

“He’s going to see a lot of different looks from the defense, so he, like a lot of young guys, they’re trying their best to hang in there. But they’re a long way off from where they need to be. He’s working the right way, though.”