We were quick to point out that the Cincinnati Bengals should be all over a trade for Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle La’el Collins once rumors made the rounds that he was available.
And it would appear the Bengals’ official website agrees.
Fielding questions from fans, Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com said he’d love to see the team throw a fourth-round pick at the Cowboys to get back a quality starter who has already played under current line coach Frank Pollack.
Hobson also brings up quite the interesting name in free agency with Los Angeles Rams center Brian Allen:
“Like they did last year on defense when they inked young guys on their second contracts, I’d love to see them do that with a couple offensive interior players. Start with Rams center Brian Allen. Just 26, Allen ran a wide zone scheme similar to the one Pollack runs with Zac Taylor, a descendant of Rams head coach Sean McVay’s wide zone run scheme.”
Allen, a former fourth-round pick, doesn’t get a ton of attention when looking at this year’s free-agency class. But even last year, he earned an 80.2 PFF grade over 16 games last year, though he comes with injury concerns after missing chunks of 2019 and all of 2020.
Still, it’s a good example of a low-key signing the Bengals could make that would improve a position at an affordable cost, enabling them to make splashes elsewhere.
This sort of trade and low-buy approach could be the move for a team that doesn’t necessarily want to go wild with Joe Burrow’s extension hanging over everything.
