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Simply put, New England Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins is an outstanding player. Entering his third NFL season, he has to be viewed as an outside candidate for the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Patriots fans may be concerned about the secondary as the opener against Pittsburgh approaches, but at least we don’t have to worry about the starting linebackers. Jerod Mayo, Dont’a Hightower and Collins provide quite possibly the best trio of starters in the league. Collins, in particular, has a very high ceiling and is worthy of your complete fandom.
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In the 2013 NFL Draft, the Patriots did not have a first-round pick at their disposal. But they made up for that by selecting Collins with their first selection, the 52nd overall pick. It was a great choice.
Collins didn’t do too much in his rookie year, mainly playing on special teams and succeeding in that role. He emerged on the national scene with a breakout game against the Colts in the Divisional Round that postseason, recording six tackles, a sack and an interception.
Now, we’re going to examine Collins a little closer. Read on to see why you should be fully confident in Collins reaching new heights in 2015.
Next: 3. He's a freak athlete
Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
3. He is extremely athletic
Let’s start where it all began for Collins as an NFL player: the combine. In February of 2013, Collins made jaws drop with his performance.
He led all linebacker prospects that season with an 11’7 broad jump. That speaks for itself.
And when he was tasked with jumping high after jumping long, Collins didn’t bat an eye. He posted an incredible 41.5 inch vertical leap, only an inch away from breaking the record of 42.5 inches.
Jamie Collins' vertical jump was 41.5'' (unofficial) #NFLCombine
— NFL Media (@NFLMedia) February 25, 2013
Lastly, his 40-yard dash time was 4.64 seconds, which was one of the fastest among linebackers that winter. We can look back on Collins’ excellent performance in the 2013 combine as a foreshadowing of the freak athleticism he would display right away in the NFL.
As if we needed another reminder of Collins’ scary athleticism after watching him block field goals, deflect passes and drag players down for losses, he did this:
If football stops working out for Collins, the U.S. gymnastics team might come calling.
Read on for another reason why you should be all-in on Collins this season.
Next: 2. Collins' 2014 speaks for itself
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2. He is coming off a breakout 2014 season
In 2014, Collins led the Patriots with 116 tackles, four forced fumbles, two fumbles recovered and tied for the team lead with two picks. In other words, Collins led the defense in more statistical categories than any other player.
The Southern Miss product didn’t slow down in the playoffs, racking up 17 tackles, three passes defended and an interception.
Collins’ efforts in 2014 were enough to land him at No. 40 on Pro Football Focus’ list of the top 101 players in the NFL. Here’s their justification for the ranking:
"Pushed himself up the Top 101 with a strong playoff run that was the exclamation mark on an excellent second half of the year. His only disappointment was the start to the year which was less than was expected, but improved when it mattered most. A versatile defender who was particularly excellent coming forward."
In addition to placing him on their All-PFF Second-Team (which means he was one of the top four linebackers in the NFL last season), PFF noted that Collins led the NFL in a very interesting category: quarterback pressures from the inside linebacker position, of which Collins had a whopping 26.
Considering how well Collins played last season, Patriots fans should feel confident that they have themselves a top-tier linebacker who hasn’t even reached his prime yet.
Next: 1. He has leadership ability
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1. He is a capable leader
It’s all well and good that Collins is athletic and coming off a career year, but he wouldn’t fit in the New England linebacker corps if he didn’t have leadership ability.
When Jerod Mayo went down for the season in October, the reins of the defense were handed over to Dont’a Hightower. And when Hightower missed time because of injury, it was up to Collins, just a sophomore pro, to man the controls.
In the Pats’ 23-14 win over San Diego, Collins was the man. In addition to leading the team with nine tackles and two sacks, he piloted the defense in the absence of Mayo and Hightower. Here’s what Bill Belichick had to say about No. 91 after that game:
"This was a big game for him San Diego with [Hightower] out – taking over the communication and working with Johnathan [Casillas], who has had the least amount of time playing in there. I thought Jamie did a great job of controlling the defense, recognizing a couple of checks and adjustments we needed to make. He plays with a lot of speed, acceleration. He’s very good in the open field and in space. He’s done a good job of rushing and communicating and working with teammates – getting other guys in the right spots. I think he’s gained a lot of confidence, experience, and an overall grasp of the league through the course of the season, and he’s built on it week by week. He did a really good job for us."
There you have it. If you weren’t all-in on Collins before reading this article, you ought to be now, or else I’m not doing my job as a Patriots writer.