Film Study – Landon Collins
July 16, 2019
by Steve Thomas
The Redskins made their biggest free agency splash in years this past March when they agreed to terms with free agent safety Landon Collins to a massive six year, $84M contract. This deal has a bargain-sized $4M cap hit for 2019, but gets expensive fast, moreso due to the small 2019 price, peaking at $17.2M in 2021. At that price, Collins needs to be worth every penny or his contract will quickly become a franchise albatross. The Redskins front office clearly sees something in Collins that they love – after all, he came with comparisons, or at least links to, deceased Redskins legend Sean Taylor, which was exacerbated by Collins’ interest in wearing Taylor’s #21 (which ultimately didn’t happen).
Given all of this, I thought it would be worthwhile to find out exactly what the Redskins have in Collins. Will he be a franchise cornerstone for the next six years? After all, the New York Giants let this player walk. Granted, the Giants’ front office is manned by a bunch of stiffs, but still, they let a first team All-Pro who’s just entering his prime walk away. Could there be a reason beyond cap space that they did that? Let’s find out.
Background
Collins, 6’0”, 222 pounds, was the Giants’ first pick of round two of the 2015 draft out of Alabama. He played in a total of 41 games in three years for the Crimson Tide, with 184 total tackles, including 122 solo and 62 assisted tackles, five interceptions, and 1 touchdown. He was a unanimous First Team All-American in 2014. At the 2015 NFL Combine, Collins ran the 40 yard dash in 4.53 seconds, jumped 35 inches in the vertical leap and 10’0” in the standing broad jump. He then played in and started 59 games in four seasons for the Giants, with 428 tackles, including 321 solo and 107 assisted tackles, 8 interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, and 4 sacks. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2016, 2017, and 2018, and was a First Team All-Pro in 2016. His year by year stats were:
2015: 16 gms, 108 tackles, 80 solo, 28 assisted, 1 interception
2016: 16 gms, 125 tackles, 100 solo, 25 assisted, 5 interceptions, 4 sacks
2017: 15 gms, 99 tackles, 74 solo, 25 assisted, 2 interceptions
2018: 12 gms, 96 tackles, 67 solo, 29 assisted
As you can see, from a statistical standpoint Collins was a legit performer during his time with the Giants. Collins’ 428 total tackles was 9th-most in the NFL between 2015 and 2018.
What does his film show?
As I always say, I’m not a professional scout. My observations here are just my amateur, educated opinions, so take them for what you will. #notascout. That having been said, let’s get into it.
Strengths
Landon has quite a few strengths: he’s relentless, a big hitter, smart, and has great football vision. He’s a leader on the field and appears to have a firm grasp of the defense, and doesn’t make many mental mistakes. His reputation as an “in the box” player is well earned. Collins has the potential to make a big difference in the Redskins’ run defense, in particular. Let’s get into some details.
Collins’ strength is in the box run defense
Landon Collins’ highest and best use is in the box in run defense. Truly, he is an inch or two and a few pounds from being better served as a linebacker. What he shows on film is a relentless pursuit of the runner, provided that he can shed opposing blocks. This package of clips is a bit long, but I wanted you to really get a sense of who this player is at his best:
In the first play, from the Giants’ week 12 game at Philadelphia, Collins (number 21 in all clips) is at the top of your screen towards the right in the strong safety position. He sniffs out the run play immediately and comes forward towards the line of scrimmage, but ultimately stays home and plays the interior gap. He meets the running back head on, makes a strong hit, wraps up and brings him down. Classic Landon Collins.
In the second play, from the same Eagles game, Collins is again lined up as strong safety towards the bottom left of your screen. Collins once again quickly diagnoses the play as a run to the defensive left edge, sheds the pulling left guard by not allowing the guard to get his hands on his chest, and makes the tackle for no gain. The third play is also from the Eagles game; Collins is lined up on the defensive left edge on the right side of your screen. As was the case in the last play, Collins does not allow the pulling guard to engage, easily shedding him, then makes the tackle by wrapping up the running back.
The fourth play is from week 4 versus New Orleans. Collins is playing the defensive left edge. The play is a sweep to the offensive right side. This is high school football 101: Collins engages the lead blocker (quarterback/do it all guy Taysom Hill), sheds him, and makes the stop. The next play is also from the Saints game. Collins is again in the classic strong safety position, on the bottom left of your screen, but then moves up to the line of scrimmage in response to the motion man. Collins is able to dump the block from the receiver and hit the running back head on.
In the sixth play, Collins is line up in the middle of your screen, essentially in the middle linebacker position. The play is a handoff to Alvin Kamara, who hits the B gap on the left side. Kamara tries to juke to his left to evade the hit, but Collins isn’t fooled and is able to wrap up his tackle and bring Kamara down. In the seventh play, Collins is line up on the defensive right edge on the far left of your screen. The play is a run to the right, but Collins charges unblocked through his gap, catches Kamara from behind and makes a quality stop for no gain.
These plays are classic Landon Collins – heads up, smart run defense. This is what the Redskins will expect from him the most. It’s not all sunshine and roses, but I’ll get to that below.
His football speed is good but not great
Landon’s game speed is good, but not great. His 4.53 second 40 time seems to be an accurate representation of the speed he shows on the field:
In the first play, from the Giants’ matchup against Dallas, Collins comes all the way over from the left side safety position to chase down Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott. Collins doesn’t show a ton of closing speed here, but he takes a good angle and gets the job done. In the second play, from the same game, Collins is lined up essentially as a linebacker on the right side of your screen. He sees quarterback Dak Prescott run the bootleg to the defensive right side and chases him down to make the tackle (with an assist to the Cowboy receiver who gets in the way in the course of trying to block the New York corner). This is decent foot speed – he’s not too slow for the position – but he’s no Sean Taylor.
His tackling skills are excellent, at times
The bottom line to Landon Collins and tackling is that when his technique is clean, he’s a tackling machine. As we’ll get to below, that’s not always the case. Here’s a few examples of Collins at his best when it comes to tackling:
In the first play, against the Saints, Collins, who is essentially playing a middle linebacker role, meets the running back head on in the gap, squares his body, gets low, then tries to drive through the running back while wrapping up with his arms. The second play,, also from the Saints game, is an even better example. In this play, Collins is lined up in the right outside linebacker position. The Saints run what looks to be an RPO in which Hill keeps the ball and runs a zone read to the left, with Alvin Kamara leading the way. Collins isn’t fooled at all and waits for his opportunity to drive into the midsection of Hill (who tries to evade the tackle) with his shoulder while wrapping up with his arms. In the third and final play, against the Eagles, Collins is again essentially playing the right outside linebacker role. It looks like the play was originally supposed to be a run to the B gap left, but Collins fills the hole and forces the running back to try and evade to the edge. Collins once again gets good leverage low, makes good contact, and wraps up to drag the back down. All three plays are textbook in that Collins stays on his feet, drives in the runner, and wraps up his tackles.
He has his moments in pass coverage, within certain parameters
I don’t think Landon’s strength is pattern matching in man coverage, but he does make positive contributions in both zone and man, but more so in zone, in his safety role. Take a look at these examples:
In the first play (from the Saints game), the Giants are in dime coverage, with Collins on the right side of your screen, just behind and inside of the left corner. The Saints receiver runs a simple square out right at Collins, who is able to blanket the receiver and get a hand in to break up the touchdown pass – an outstanding rep.
In second play, also against New Orleans, the Giants are in nickel coverage (which, incidentally, seems to be their base defense), with Collins on the right side of your screen, playing the deepest part of the box. What’s great about this play is that Collins, in zone coverage, recognizes that the Saints’ H-back (of sorts) is trying to leak out underneath into the vacated the soft middle. He rapidly closes the gap on the receiver and breaks up the completion. This is where Collins excels, not in pattern matching in man coverage.
In the next play, once again from the Saints game, Collins is lined up on the defensive left side over the Saints’ Z receiver. Collins passes the receiver off to the corner behind him and takes the tight end, Ben Watson, one on one on an out and up. Granted, this is Ben Watson and not a speedy slot receiver, but Collins stays with Watson step for step and is able to ensure the pass is incomplete.
The fourth play, against the Eagles, is a screen pass to the offensive right side. Collins is lined up on the line of scrimmage, second from the left. With the assistance of a great block from his teammate, Collins is able to evade the Eagles blockers and blow up the screen.
The final example play is from the Eagles game. Collins starts off on the right side, but follows the motion man across the formation to the defensive left side. Collins expertly evades what are essentially picks for the primary receiver run by two of the Eagles receivers to make a clean hit for a short gain (notice that Collins fails to wrap up on his tackle, instead relying on the hit to bring the receiver down).
Collins is a high-energy player
Finally, I have two throwaway clips that show the type of attitude and fire with which Collins typically plays:
The first play is taken from the Eagles game. Collins is on the line of scrimmage, third from the left. Collins blitzes through the gap, directly towards the quarterback, but gets chop-blocked. Instead of giving up on the play, he pops back up and gets a hit on the quarterback, Carson Wentz, as the ball is being released. The second play is also from the Eagles game. Collins is lined up as strong safety on the right side of your screen. He again blitzes the quarterback, this time through the B gap, practically leaping around the blocker to get another hit on the quarterback as the ball is being released.
These two plays aren’t earthshattering; they are just examples of the fire with which Collins typically plays.
Weaknesses
For as many positive skills and abilities as Landon Collins possesses, he’s one player who also comes with significant weaknesses and bad habits. He frequently misses tackles, his coverage skills are lacking in some respects, and he’s easily swallowed up by blockers once they get their hands on him inside his pads.
Collins misses alot of tackles
Tackling is a serious problem for Collins. I have several examples, and I’ll just tell you, I didn’t even use every play I found in just the three games I studied. Check these out:
I don’t need to describe each of these six plays in detail for you to plainly see Collins (1) going for the big hit but failing to wrap up, thereby allowing the ball carrier to escape, (2) arm tackling, (3) trying to hit the ball carrier without any leverage, and (4) in some cases just being flat-out fooled. For every solid hit and tackle like I showed above, there’s one of these bad plays to make up for it. I suspect we’ll see more of this from him in Washington unless the defensive coaching staff makes him clean up these problems.
He has definite weaknesses in pass coverage
Despite the clips I showed above, I don’t believe that pass coverage is Collins’ strong point, at least when it comes to man coverage and pattern matching. As you’ve seen, when Collins is playing the zone, he has the ability to close and disrupt the reception. He has had some success one on one, as you’ve seen, but Collins doesn’t appear agile enough to provide quality coverage in the face of double moves. Here are a few clips of some negative plays:
In the first clip, from the Cowboys game, Collins is on the left side of your screen lined up on the far defensive right edge just off the line of scrimmage. In this case, his assignment is to cover the Cowboy tight end, Rico Gathers, who shoves Collins, separates, and is able to break inside on a poorly run, rounded off dig route. Collins is forced to play catch-up across the field. Ultimately, Prescott throws a poor pass under pressure that goes incomplete, but (in my view) this is a poor effort.
The second clip is also from the Dallas game. Collins is on the defensive left side, just off the line of scrimmage. Because the play is a pass, he has responsibility for off-man coverage on the inside receiver, who runs what looks like a deep in route. Collins is unable to smoothly rotate his hips and as a result allows the receiver to run past him. Collins then also falls for a jab step inside as the receiver breaks outside, who ends up wide open. Fortunately, the play is a bust as Prescott is forced to scramble and throw the ball away. It’s nonetheless a bad rep for Collins.
The third play in this series is from the Saints game. The Giants are in zone coverage, and this play is a bust. Collins in lined up on the defensive left side, 5 yards from the line of scrimmage. The outside receiver runs straight through the flats and the corner passes him off to watch the running back leaking out into the right flats. Meanwhile, the tight end runs a shallow in route, which takes the free safety. Collins is inexplicitly distracted by the running back coming into the flats and ignores the receiver now running free into the end zone. Presumably, Collins assumed the free safety who play the backside would be there, but regardless, this is a big bust and there was no reason for Collins to commit to the running back in the flats. Drew Brees gets sacked, so ultimately no harm is done, but it’s still a poor play.
Finally, the fourth play is also against the Saints. Collins is playing farthest outside on the defensive right. The Giants appear to be in man coverage. The receivers on the offensive left side (including Collins’ man) cross, but Collins and the other defensive back get in each other’s way and allow the inside receiver, crossing to the outside, to run free. Brees doesn’t see him wide open in the end zone and throws the ball to the other side of the field. The defensive backs on the other side of the field manage to get it right, but Collins and his teammate both try to go with the outside receiver crossing inside. It’s a blown play, and Collins was at fault.
He plays too stiff
Collins isn’t flexible or agile enough for man coverage. Many safeties aren’t, which is why they are safeties, so this isn’t necessarily a surprise. In Collins’ case, like I said above in my opinion, he’s almost more linebacker than defensive back due to these limitations. Watch these two plays:
Both of these plays show that Collins has stiff hips. He can’t smoothly rotate out of his backpedal to the same degree as can a corner. He’s not terrible; it just isn’t his strength. The first play is against the Eagles, and Collins is lined up in the right outside linebacker position. The second play is also from the Eagles game, and Collins is lined up in the left outside linebacker position.
He has a problem shedding blocks
Collins has a tendency to allow offensive linemen to get their hands cleanly onto his chest, and once that happens, he often isn’t able to disengage. In the plays I showed you above, Collins didn’t allow the opposing offensive player to engage in this fashion, but it does happen to him on a fairly regular basis:
Watch Collins on all of these plays, and pay particular attention in each how the opposing offensive player is able to get and control Collins. In play #1, Collins is lined up as a linebacker on the defensive right side. In play #2 he’s lined up as the left safety, seven yards off the line of scrimmage. In both plays 3 and 4, Collins is on the defensive left side. You don’t need me to describe the plays in detail to get the picture.
Conclusion
Collins has a number of great strengths: he’s aggressive and smart, he’s a definite asset in run defense when he has space to operate and uses solid technique, and he’s a good player in zone pass coverage when he has time to react and close the gap with the ball in the air. His principal negatives are that he misses a relatively high number of tackles as a result of poor technique, and he’s not great in man coverage. Let’s hope we see more of the good parts of Landon Collins and less of the bad. If that happens, the Redskins run defense could substantially improve. If not, well, it’s a long and expensive contract.