FOXBORO, Mass. — Jamie Collins is making all 31 teams who passed on him in the 2013 NFL draft look pretty dumb.
The linebacker is having a breakout season in this second year in the league, flashing the versatility that made him so attractive to the New England Patriots with the No. 52 overall pick. Collins, who’s known as the best athlete on the Patriots, has excelled as a pass rusher and in coverage, and he’s greatly improved against the run as the season has progressed.
“Jamie’s a smart kid. He’s another player that had a lot of experience, just not at the same position,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said Wednesday. “He started as a quarterback in high school, then went to Southern Miss as a safety. They moved him to inside linebacker, then he played outside linebacker in a 3-4, then his senior year he played defensive end in a 4-3 and was rarely in coverage, but there’s not a lot of players at that level who have gone from defensive end to safety and quarterback in high school.
“I’d say looking at him coming out of college, you wouldn’t say that he was overly proficient in any of those areas, but I think you could see a lot of improvement in his play over the course of the year, like as a pass rusher, as a defensive end, he improved a lot in his senior year, but he only played it one year. Same thing as an inside linebacker, same thing as an outside linebacker, really even watching him play safety a little bit as a freshman. He was a quarterback in high school, so I think you could see that progression. But then every year they either moved him or they had a staff change that precipitated the the move, or a scheme change that precipitated him changing.
“Of course, as athletic and as talented as he is, he could probably play all of those positions now to tell you the truth. Even at this level. I’m sure he was an easy guy to move, dependent on what the requirements were on their team, and what players they had. He’s certainly grown in these two years. Again, he’s a smart player, and he’s handled all of the communication things we’ve asked him to do. He’s got a lot of different assignments. He can go from anywhere from rushing the passer to playing in the deep part of the field. He’s a versatile player who can handle a lot of different responsibilities and assignments, and the communication that goes along with that.”
There’s a growing trend of players like Collins in the NFL, who have the versatility to fill every role on defense. Even players like the Denver Broncos’ Von Miller and Oakland Raiders’ Khalil Mack, both of whom are excellent as pass rushers and run stoppers, can’t cover like Collins, however.
Belichick paid Collins the ultimate compliment by mentioning him in the same paragraph as one of the best players he’s ever coached — Hall of Fame pass rusher Lawrence Taylor.
“Jamie Collins’ don’t — it’s not exactly like there’s two dozen of them in the draft every year,” Belichick said. “We’re lucky to have one. Was Lawrence Taylor a prototype outside linebacker? Where’s the next Lawrence Taylor? Those guys don’t grow on trees.”
The Minnesota Vikings might have the most remorse for passing on Collins, since they traded the No. 52 overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft, along with three other selections, to the Patriots, to trade up for wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, who lost his starting job as a receiver this season.
The 2013 draft as a whole was disappointing for most teams, and Collins already is turning out to be one of the best players in the entire class.
Thumbnail photo via Tom Lynn/Associated Press
