During the 2015 NFL Draft coverage I was practically drooling over the potential of Landon Collins. Collins is showing you why I had such a high-grade on him. It has not been perfect, but it is clear that the talent is there.
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Last week was the best game Collins has had so far. There were two plays that stood out to me against Washington. First he made a big play in run defense. There was no outside contain and Alfred Morris had found the open field. Collins came flying down and made a perfect tackle that prevented a big play.
The other play that stood out he actually got beat in coverage. Kirk Cousins saw a wide open receiver in the end zone, Collins recovered and deflected the ball down. These are two big plays that don’t show up in the stats that were very influential in the result of the game.
Collins has 16 tackles which means he is averaging a little more than 5 tackles per game. The Giants run defense has improved greatly this season. Collins has a lot to do with that.
There have been some moments where his rookie status has been exposed. For example when Jason Witten motioned across the formation, Collins was in man to man with him and failed to react. Witten scored the touchdown.
We knew there would be some growing pains. The strong safety position is a hard transition into the NFL. The game is quicker and the quarterback play is amazingly better. Collins has played as well as anybody could really expect in the first three weeks of his career.
Collins is a high energy player who believes in his abilities. He has a certain swagger about him. That is what you want to see from a starter on defense.
Going into the draft I claimed that Collins was a special talent who had the ability to help the run and pass defense. It looks like I was right. If this is what Collins can do in the beginning of his career, just imagine how great he will be by the end of it.