New York Giants: Is Landon Collins DROY material?

After producing 2014’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, could the New York Giants possibly have 2015’s Defensive Rookie of the Year?

Despite sliding into the second round of May’s draft, the highly coveted Landon Collins has his sights set high for his rookie campaign.

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“Defensive Rookie of the Year, that’s my expectation,” Collins said at the Play 60 event at the NFL’s Rookie Symposium, according to Kevin Patra of NFL.com.

So does the former playmaker for the Crimson Tide have a real shot at winning the prestigious award?

Well, let’s start with the easiest, non-controversial points and say that out of all the defensive rookies, Collins will have one of the best chances to produce early and often.

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After failing to lure a big-name safety to The Big Apple in free agency, the Giants’ safety woes were heavily talked about leading up to the draft.

Despite being a rookie, Collins will likely start at one of the safety spots for the Giants come week 1. He’s brought the same intensity he had in college with him to the pros, and its helped him so far.

Collins has more pedigree than his competition (Nat Berhe, Cooper Taylor, Bennett Jackson, Mykkele Thompson), and he has more talent, too.

Collins will also be the beneficiary of playing for one of the NFL’s most creative defensive coordinators, Steve Spagnuolo. During his first stint with Big Blue, Spagnuolo was able to lead New York’s defense to success with players less talented — James Butler, Michael Johnson, etc. — than Collins.

Having Collins start from the get-go isn’t throwing him into the flames, either, which is what many view is happening with New York’s first-round pick, Ereck Flowers.

Whereas Flowers was never projected to start at left tackle during his rookie year, the Giants likely envisioned Collins taking over the starting safety spot early on. If they didn’t, they likely wouldn’t have traded up — an uncharacteristic move — for the impressive d-back.

Perhaps Collins said it best by saying: “They didn’t move up in the draft for no reason.”

The big question with Collins is how well he’ll play in space.

Scouts had concerns about his coverage abilities coming out of college, and he’s now in a division with deep threats like Dez Bryant and DeSean Jackson.

The fact of the matter is that many view Collins as a box safety who’s stout against the run, but lacks the elite coverage abilities that safeties like Earl Thomas have.

He’s good at getting into the backfield during run support, and he’s generally a good tackler. He very rarely tried to arm-tackle in college, and that’s a trait that only hurts players at the pro level.

I do expect Collins to experience growing pains while he gets acclimated to the speed of the NFL. However, he’s the perfect safety for the Spagnuolo-led defense.

One of the best parts about Collins is his attitude. He has a quiet demeanor off the field, but he’s a maniac on it.

His hard-hitting style will make him a tone-setter on the defense, as he has a penchant for laying guys out. Even though he’ll make mistakes during his rookie campaign, he’ll make them at 100 miles per hour.

Collins has stated before that he models his game after the late, great Sean Taylor. After originally wanting to wear 26 for the Giants, Collins was awarded 21 by teammate Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

Taylor wore 26 in college and 21 for the Redskins.

Collins has the necessary work ethic, and he wants to become a leader on the Giants defense.

“First, what I’m trying to improve is my trust with players,” Collins said. “I can’t be a leader until they trust me in my play calling and be able to call plays and make movements and make an adjustment.”

It seems the young, aspiring leader has already won over teammate.

“Collins seems very assertive when he calls out the plays,” cornerback Prince Amukamara said, according to Tom Rock of Newsday. “I think all the confidence comes from being at Alabama and always playing at a pro-caliber mentality.”

This rookie class of defensive players is full of talent. Guys like Leonard Williams, Randy Gregory, Vic Beasley and Trae Waynes are all candidates to win Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Although Collins has a shot to win the distinction, his rookie year won’t be a failure if he doesn’t. His presence on the Giants defense already means a lot, and the team is certainly better with number 21 on the field.

It’s tough to say whether Collins will win DROY, but he will certainly be a difference-maker for the Giants.

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