*Walt taking 2014 and 2018 |
Charlie Campbell, Senior Draft Analyst |
Landon Collins Viewed as Strong Safety
Updated Nov. 30, 2014By Charlie Campbell. Follow Charlie on Twitter @draftcampbell.
In the pass happy NFL featuring some dangerous receiving tight ends, the safety position is taking on increased importance. The consensus top safety prospect for the 2015 NFL Draft is Alabama’s Landon Collins. The Crimson Tide junior is expected to declare for the draft, and scouts are grading Collins for the next draft. While many have stated that Collins is a safety that can do it all, sources with NFL teams feel that Collins is a strong safety prospect and is not a safety who can play the deep end of the field as a free safety.
Sources say that Collins has some limitations in pass coverage. Those could be seen in a few games season, but especially against Ole Miss. He can struggle to play man coverage on tight ends and wide receivers in the deep part of the field. At the next level, he’ll need to be protected from those kind of mismatches. They feel that in the NFL he is going to be better playing closer to the line of scrimmage and should excel as the eighth man in the box. The 6-foot, 220-pounder is a physical tackler and a good run defender in the tackle box.
For the purposes of comparison, sources say that Collins game is similar to Baltimore Ravens safety Matt Elam and Houston Texans safety D.J. Swearinger. The difference is that Collins is bigger a version than both of those players, but he is a comparable player with a similar style of play. Elam was a late first-round pick, while Swearinger went in Round 2. Sources believe that Collins will go ahead of both of them.
Collins has 68 tackles with five passes broken up and three interceptions in 2014. He is grading out as a first-round pick, and teams feel that he is ready to compete quickly in the next level.
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