LSU OT La'El Collins Cements 1st-Round Status with Big Senior Bowl Performance

Casual observers of the Senior Bowl or its week of practice leading up to the game probably are not glued to the TV, watching offensive line play.

It’s not a glamorous position but remains important to team building.

Among the offensive linemen to put his skill set on display this week in Mobile, Alabama, was LSU’s La’El Collins, who showed well and likely cemented his status as a first-round draft selection.

Collins entered this week with question marks surrounding his NFL position, as he started his collegiate career at offensive guard before moving to left tackle as a junior in 2013.

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In fact, NFL Network analysts Mike Mayock and Daniel Jeremiah debated that question earlier this week. Mayock viewed Collins as having a right tackle skill set, while Jeremiah called him a fit in the “second-round area” and a best fit at guard because of his power and occasional confusion with unexpected stunts and defensive fronts.

Draft Breakdown’s Joe Marino wrote Collins is a fit for any system at guard but not at tackle:

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At guard, Collins is a fit for all systems. He can win in tight spaces and set the proper depth of the pocket as a pass blocker. …I feel Collins’ best fit is to kick inside and play guard. I have no concerns about his ability to handle the action as it develops much quicker at guard as opposed to playing more on an island at tackle.

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However, Bleacher Report’s own Matt Miller listed Collins as an offensive tackle in his latest big board and ranked him No. 12 overall. Miller slotted him at No. 9 to the New York Giants in his mock draft from one week ago. Miller continued to be impressed with the 6’4.625”, 308-pound lineman throughout Senior Bowl week:

Miller also broke down the tape from LSU’s loss to Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl and wrote Collins was a standout there: “He is a man in the run game and is able to eat up defenders with his first contact. I know some scouts I've talked to think he's too slow-footed to play left tackle, but I disagree and see him as a Day 1 starter there.”

Should NFL teams be convinced of his ability to play tackle, it would likely seal his draft stock as a Top 15 selection, whereas he may not come off the board until the second day if he were limited to playing on the interior.

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Other media scouts have also taken notice of Collins. Bleacher Report’s Connor Rogers called him a legitimate option as high as No. 6 overall to the New York Jets, and DraftTV’s Shane P. Hallam cited him as a top-15 pick:

As for the Senior Bowl, Joe Everett of DraftScouts.com observed Collins held his own at left tackle:

Among the other factors working in Collins’ favor is the transition that college offensive linemen have made to the pros. Tony Villiotti of the now-defunct Draft Metrics website studied every draft from 1991 to 2010 and concluded offensive linemen were among the safest positions to draft and the most likely to start as rookies by a wide margin. He found that, over the 20-year period studied, an average of 8.7 offensive linemen per draft class started at least eight games in their rookie season.

Given his performance during Senior Bowl week and Miller’s belief he is a plug-and-play left tackle in the NFL, Collins should be a surefire first-rounder and could come off the board earlier than many people expect.