Jamie Collins is a cornerback trapped in a 250-pound body. While most linebackers are forced into pass coverage duties, Collins looks at home on an island.
As a rookie, Collins played inside and outside linebacker. He lined up at defensive end occasionally to rush the passer, and could blitz up the middle.
Moving forward is typical of a guy his size, but it's not typical to see the same player line up one-on-one outside the numbers against receivers, and win.
Bill Belichick has found a new sort of prototype. Nearly 30 years removed from establishing what NFL teams look for in a 3-4 linebacker, Collins is the right player for this era. Once a safety at Southern Mississippi, Collins can go entire games without going after a quarterback. (
Week 16 against Baltimore was a great example; he shut down their tight ends on passing downs.)
"He does everything,"
Patriots safety
Devin McCourty told the Boston Globe this offseason. "He's one of those freakish athletes that can do what we do as defensive backs and as a linebacker."
Belichick built his championship defenses in large part around his linebackers, but he hasn't had a player quite like Collins. It's disarming to see a player his size (6'4) chasing down wide receivers from the weak side.
The NFL wouldn't have known what to do with him 20 years ago.
Collins is the player that Adalius Thomas was supposed to be. If he were a baseball player, we'd talk about his five tools: Speed, strength, pass coverage, pass rush and run stopping. Belichick's defenses have tended to be more vanilla in recent years because of personnel.
Now Belichick has Darrelle Revis and a Swiss Army knife asset like Collins in his pocket; it's time to get more creative again.
Collins' ceiling would be to emerge as
the AFC's answer to Lavonte David and Thomas Davis. In an era of multiple defenses and pass-catching tight ends, every team is looking for hybrids at linebacker. The Patriots found a good one.
