After finishing second on the team in sacks as a rookie, defensive tackle Maliek Collins believes he can be even better going forward for the Dallas Cowboys
Nebraska defensive end Maliek Collins lasted until the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft, but the Dallas Cowboys were more than happy to provide him a soft landing spot after the fall. He proved with a productive rookie season that they had every right to be all smiles at the selection.
Collins started the year off with some bad luck as a broken foot limited him to a mere handful of preseason snaps after missing all of training camp. He caught up quickly though and ended up playing all 16 games while starting the majority of those for Dallas.
By season’s end, he was becoming a disruptive force as the three-technique in defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli’s system. The 311-pound Collins finished with 30 tackles, five sacks and 14 quarterback pressures, but he believes he left some plays on the field and can be even better moving forward.
More from NFL Spin Zone
- Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
- Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
- Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
- Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
- Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens
Collins had this to say via Drew Davison of the Star Telegram:
"“I could’ve been more productive,” Collins said during the Cowboys’ minicamp. “The types of players I was around — Terrell McClain, Tyrone Crawford, Jack Crawford — all those guys I played around I could have played better.”"
The second-year tackle also said his “passion” is to play the under-tackle spot — which he currently does for the Cowboys. Since his youth, he has studied great players like Hall-of Famer Warren Sapp to see how to excel at the spot.
Now living out his dream, the sophomore player has the right mindset as he said he plans to continue to work as if his job is on the line. Collins said this of his frame of mind heading into 2017, again per Davison of the Star-Telegram:
"“Nothing is promised,” Collins said. “I’m going to keep competing as if I was at the bottom of the roster. I feel like I am in the bottom. I’m doing things every day to make sure I’m the best. That’s the nature of the game. You’ve got to be a competitor.”"
Must Read: Dallas Cowboys: 5 Breakout candidates in 2017 pre-training camp
With all the talk of who will be the pass rusher in Dallas focusing on the edge players, Collins aims to be the one to provide the pressure. If he does, the already stacked Cowboys’ 2016 draft class will only look better.