Maliek Collins was one of my top 5 DTs (in order: Rankins, Bullard, Collins, Hargrave, Day) for us leading up to the draft. After we selected him I knew he would be the player I wanted to study. I watched 10 games from 2014 and 9 games from 2015.
Initial impressions:
Explosive first step. Moves well laterally. Plays with good pad level. Strong hands. Good motor. Plays hard all 4 quarters.
Notes:
Watching Maliek Collins I see a natural 3-technique (lines up over the outside shoulder of the guard) defensive tackle that can play all three downs. His athleticism jumps off the screen with his movement skills and nice footwork. Strong hands that can jolt blockers and pull down players with one hand. Collins does go to ground more than you want but I think some of that has to do with his all out play. He lined up at every position on the defensive line during his time at Nebraska but is most effective inside attacking upfield. He is a penetrator but he didn't finish some plays in the backfield. He splashes often but there are stretches when he is quiet.
Against the pass Collins has a nice combination of speed and power. He uses his speed to get into a blocker quickly and then executes an arm over move while the OL is still getting set to get into the backfield. It's his go-to move and is very effective. He can convert speed to power with a nice bull rush using that athleticism and strong hands. It's effective enough that OLs have to respect it so they can't sit on speed. Whenever he had an OL isolated 1 on 1 in a passing situation he won more times than not. Collins' athleticism is a weapon on stunts especially as the loop because of his lateral quickness. Collins usually gets himself into an advantageous position with his explosive first step but if an OL can get into position and get their arms engaged he can have trouble getting off blocks. This is an area where he can improve.
In the run game Collins does work against zone because he can usually shoot through and get behind the line of scrimmage before an OL can get on him with his speed. He has enough strength to hold up 1 on 1, you can see him move blockers and plug his gap in the video, but against bigger/stronger NFL linemen he might have trouble holding the point on a consistent basis. Against good double teams he can be taken for a ride. In 2014 Iowa had success late in the 4th when they double teamed Collins and ran at him.
2014 was a very productive season for Collins but his numbers took a big drop in 2015. It may concern people who only look at his stats but I'm not worried because there were things out of his control that affected his production.
- New coaching staff in 2015 including defensive line coach
- Losing key players like Abdullah, Bell, and of course Gregory
- There wasn't a real pass rushing threat outside
- Rarely doubled in 2014, Collins became the focal point for offenses in 2015 and had to deal with double teams on a more consistent basis
- The DL coach was fired after the 2015 season
Collins was a captain for the 2015 season, has no injury history, and only missed 2 practices at Nebraska. He was also successful off the field, twice being named an Academic All-Big Ten pick, volunteered his time with Uplifting Athletes, Make-A-Wish, Mad Dads, Madonna Rehabilitation Center and local hospital visits. Collins earned a spot on the Brook Berringer and Tom Osborne Citizenship Teams for his volunteer efforts.
Outlook:
Dallas thinks Maliek Collins is a cornerstone player and I agree. He has the athletic ability you want for the position and also has the intangibles as well to succeed. I think he can make an immediate impact with the skillset he has and think his best football is still to come because he will get coached by Marinelli. He fits our scheme and even has some
experience in it.
With the suspensions to Gregory and Lawrence I think Collins will get a lot of snaps early and throughout his rookie season. If I had to guess right now I think Collins starts as the backup 3-tech. We keep T.Crawford as the starter and have Irving and J.Crawford share snaps at LE. With Thornton and T.McClain I think that is a nice athletic group of players with position flex. Marinelli will have a lot of options at his disposal this season even without our two best edge rushers for the first month of the season.
Projecting a draft pick is a tricky proposition
but if I had to, with the film I watched, I think Maliek Collins' floor is a good backup 3-technique. With his athleticism and work ethic along with Marinelli's tutelage I think there is a good chance he can become a solid starter for us. If he can improve getting off blocks faster and become more consistent overall he can be even more than that.
Bottom line I think Collins will be a good one.
