The Dallas Cowboys are throwing La'el Collins into the fire.
The undrafted free-agent rookie is being used at right tackle in place of the injured Doug Free during this week's organized team activities. Collins is doing his best to catch up after starring at left guard and tackle at LSU.
"It's definitely a new position for me, so a new challenge," Collins said, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "I have to go out each and every day and focus on the small things -- my technique, my assignments. It's been a great two days for the OTAs."
Free is expected to return in time for training camp, which should push Collins back into a battle with Ronald Leary for the team's left guard spot.
Widely viewed as a first-round talent, Collins slipped out of the draft due to his involvement in the murder investigation of his ex-girlfriend, Brittany Mills, in Louisiana. That investigation is ongoing and Collins has not been named as a suspect.
After Dallas showed enough faith in Collins to sign him to a fully guaranteed three-year, $1.599 million deal, coach Jason Garrett on Wednesday expressed equal belief that the rookie "has the physical ability to play a couple of different spots."
The Cowboys have added strength on top of strength. If the former LSU star displays some of the early success that Travis Frederick and Zack Martin showed as Cowboys rookies, the O-line in Dallas will live up what NFL Media's Bucky Brooks called them: The scariest position group in the NFL.
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