Save for Week 4’s ugly win over the Buffalo Bills, the 4-0 New England Patriots have received strong efforts from both sides of the ball.
The offense, obviously, has been led by Tom Brady, who hasn’t really shown any signs of decline at age 42. It’s been a true collective effort on the defensive side of the ball for New England, but one player has surprisingly stood out.
Considering his path back to Foxboro, Jamie Collins’ resurgence has been eye-opening. The veteran linebacker has stuffed the stat sheet in each of the Patriots’ first four games, which have made it clear Collins hasn’t lost a step with either his versatility or athleticism. Not only is Collins making an early bid for Defensive Player of the Year, NFL.com’s Chris Wesseling believes the 29-year-old is on the shortlist of current MVP candidates.
Wesseling on Wednesday put together a list of the top 10 MVP candidates, with Brady coming in at No. 9 and Collins landing one spot after.
“Consider Collins a stand-in for the entire veteran-laden Patriots defense that has scored more points than it has allowed,” Wesseling wrote. “Safety Devin McCourty is the first player since 2003 to record an interception in each of the season’s first four games. His twin brother, Jason, was among Pro Football Focus’ top-graded cornerbacks in September, quite an accomplishment considering teammate Stephon Gilmore is widely considered the gold standard at the position since the start of last season. It’s Collins, though, who deserves recognition as the do-everything disrupter at the heart of a stingy unit with designs on the Patriots record books. The only NFL player to generate two sacks and two interceptions in the season’s first three weeks, Collins added one more of each in the hard-fought victory at Buffalo. As if that wasn’t enough, his pressure forced Stephen Hauschka to hook a field-goal attempt going into halftime on an afternoon where points were at a premium.”
Given the level Collins has played at through the first quarter of the 2019 season, it’s become beyond perplexing to try and figure out why 31 other teams didn’t make a stronger run at the veteran LB in the offseason. But the rich seem to always get richer, and the Patriots are reaping the benefits of this reunion.
