NFL Spin Zone
Fansided

New York Giants Bring Sexy Back by Drafting Landon Collins

By Nafisa H

facebooktwitterreddit

It’s about time the New York Giants addressed their need at safety!

I will admit that I was not a big fan of the New York Giants selecting University of Miami’s offensive tackle Ereck Flowers in the first round. I wanted them to go defense, either selecting Landon Collins or trading up to nab defensive lineman Leonard Williams.

University of Alabama’s Landon Collins would’ve been the better option out of the two (if they had a choice) given that the New York Giants have a huge void at safety having failed to resign Stevie Brown or Quinten Demps following the departure of veteran safety Antrel Rolle. When we drafted Flowers, I thought for sure we had missed out on Landon Collins.

More from New York Giants

Boy oh boy, am I glad that Collins fell out of the first round and that the Giants traded with the Tennessee Titans to nab him with the 33rd overall pick.

In his last season with Alabama, Collins recorded 103 tackles (including 4.5 tackles for loss), 10 passes deflected, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, and three interceptions. Some people will point out that he doesn’t have many interceptions but bottom line, Collins is a hard-hitting safety that breaks up a lot of passes. If he’s able to improve his technique, he’ll easily cut down the number of dropped passes and gain more interceptions.

Collins has the physicality and coverage skills that the Giants need in their secondary. The kid’s an absolute beast that will give offenses nightmares. He also has a great frame and ideal size for the safety position (6 feet, 228 pounds) which allows him to win matchups against larger receivers and tight ends.

The most appealing aspect that he offers the Giants is versatility. Collins can play either strong or free safety. His versatility will give defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo more options as he develops a multi-faced defense.

While there are some limitations to his pass coverage, Landon Collins is an absolute stud in run defense. His elite ability to locate the ball allows him to defend against the run and would help the Giants bounce back from a season which they ranked almost last in run defense (ranking 30th in the league against the run) and gave up an average of 135.1 rush yards per game to opponents. 

Under the guidance of Steve Spagnuolo, who spent last season with the Baltimore Ravens as a secondary coach and led an injury-riddle secondary go from ranking 31st to 24th in pass defense within a couple of months, Collins will have the proper coaching to transform into an elite pass defender as well.

The New York Giants brought sexy back by selecting Landon Collins in the second round. The team needs to return to its aggressive, hard-hitting style of defense in order to become serious contenders and Collins will help the team in that aspect with his physicality.

Next: NFL Draft 2015: Live Day 2 Grades, Analysis, and Updates

More from NFL Spin Zone

Home/New York Giants