Former LSU offensive tackle La'el Collins, a presumed first-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, fell down and off draft boards altogether after an incident occurred in the days just prior to the first-round involving the shooting death of his ex-girlfriend and her unborn child.
While Collins was forced to leave the draft in Chicago in order to speak with Baton Rouge police, he is not now and has not been considered a suspect.
As such, now that the draft's seven-rounds have passed and most free agents have signed with their respective teams, Collins is suddenly very much in demand.
It seem the Miami Dolphins - or at several players on the Dolphins roster - are among those very interested in the former Tigers tackle and, as such, have sent a contingent to Louisiana in order to recruit Collins.
"Some #Dolphins & ex-#LSU teammates are trying to recruit La'El Collins today. No Dolphins employees to be present. Players went on their own," Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweeted.
Despite Collins having had dinner with Bills head coach Rex Ryan recently, Buffalo is considered to be out of the running for his services, per Mike Rodak of ESPN, leaving teams like the Dolphins and Bucs to duke it out for Collins.
"Receiver Jarvis Landry, linebacker Kelvin Sheppard and defensive tackle Anthony Johnson all went to Baton Rouge today," Andrew Abramson of The Palm Beach Post reports. "Center Mike Pouncey also appears to be on the trip, posting a photo on Instagram of him and Landry on a plane."
The Dolphins have a need at right guard and could certainly make use of the mammoth Collins. They also boast several LSU connections with Landry, Sheppard and Johnson.
Miami also has something else working in their favor - Mike Tannenbaum, the Dolphins new vice president of football operations, worked for Priority Sports before joining Miami.
Priority Sports just so happens to be the agency which represent Collins.
