The Dallas Cowboys are rightfully lauded for their impressive collection of offensive line talent. That group includes three former first-round picks in Tyron Smith (24), Travis Frederick (24) and Zack Martin (24) who all have around a decade of good football ahead of them. The OL unit also includes LSU star La'El Collins, a first-round talent who was signed as an undrafted free agent this year due to outside concerns out of his control.
The question some Cowboys fans have been asking is if Collins will be able to join the trio of young stars as a starter at left guard this season. It's a question that was brought up to ESPN Cowboys reporter Todd Archer in his weekly mailbag.
what do you think the chances are that La'el wins the LG spot. if its close do you think they go with the incumbent or youth #cowboysmail
— andrew lofland (@Cwhatidrew) July 23, 2015
"The Cowboys will give La'El Collins the chance to win the left guard spot from Ronald Leary," Archer responded. "They'll make sure they split the snaps so each will have a chance to make a claim to the job. Personally, I think Leary wins the job. He's better than people think. He can move well enough and he's strong. As far as the incumbent or youth argument, I'll say this: Leary is only 26, so it's not like he's some grizzled veteran. This isn't like having Kyle Kosier or Leonard Davis at the guard spots, like a few years ago. This might be too long ago for some fans out there to use this analogy, but I still don't believe Sugar Rey Leonard beat Marvin Hagler in their fight. He didn't do enough to beat the champ. To me, Collins will have to beat the champ in order to win the job."
Leary, a fellow undrafted free agent, has started 31 games for the Cowboys over the last two seasons. Pro Football Focus rated him as a below average starter after the 2014 season. Cowboys fans will have to wait and see if Collins can unseat him this offseason.
