Who are the Dallas Cowboys 5 Best Offensive Linemen, Really?
La'el Collins will make his return on Sunday versus the Minnesota Vikings. This will mark the 1st time all 5 starting offensive linemen will play together for the Dallas Cowboys in 2021. In fact, it would be for the 1st time since Or will it? Jerry Jones recently joined “Shan & RJ” on 105.3 The […]
La'el Collins will make his return on Sunday versus the Minnesota Vikings. This will mark the 1st time all 5 starting offensive linemen will play together for the Dallas Cowboys in 2021.
In fact, it would be for the 1st time since Or will it?
Jerry Jones recently joined “Shan & RJ” on 105.3 The Fan and was asked about Collins and his role on the team. Claiming that "…all in all, I feel good about La’el. We all know what he means. He’s very physical, one of the top offensive linemen in the country. We’re just fortunate to have him back.”
Despite these words from Jones, what has actually come from the team itself is to the contrary.
It's interesting enough to see La'el Collins as both the backup right tackle, and left guard. Especially since he hasn't played the position in An encouraging sight is the Connor McGovern is getting reps at center, something we've campaigned for due to early struggles from Tyler Biadasz, and the lack of depth.
The Dallas Cowboys have an excellent problem on their hands: they have too many good quality offensive linemen. So who are the true best 5 offensive linemen?
Tyron Smith and Zack Martin are the only obvious answers right now. When they both play, they're elite/All-Pro players at their positions. They shouldn't be in question.
Just based off ProFootballFocus grades, the Cowboys have the 2nd ranked offensive tackle (Smith) and top ranked guard (Martin). Outside of those 2, it's seemingly up for grabs.
Despite Connor Williams and Collins being the presumed starters from day 1, evidence points to the contrary.
Collins is the obviously more skilled, and gifted tackle aside from Steele. The biggest ability where Terence Steele has shined has been availability. Sometimes, that's what matters most.
Steele has started 19 games in his 1st 2 seasons as an undrafted free agent. Conversely, in almost 2 calendar years, Collins has only started 1 game.
Connor Williams has dealt with injuries his 1st 2 seasons, but has also progressively gotten better every year. McGovern, has shown noticeable skill in only 9 career starts, filling in for Zack Martin.
It remains to be seen where Collins will ultimately play. But what's important to notice is not what the Dallas Cowboys say, but rather what they do.
- Keeping Steele as the right tackle in the unofficial depth chart.
- Listing Collins as both the backup right tackle and left guard.
- Starting the offseason with Connor Williams as the backup center.
- Using McGovern more and more, giving him practice snaps at center.
Based on this, the team really wants to find a way to get McGovern on the field and La'el Collins will play this year. Where he plays, might not be set in stone.
The Cowboys coaching staff wants to have their best 5 players out there, and they know who they are. Getting all 5 of them out there has been the challenging part. But again, having too many good offensive linemen is a good thing.
