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The New Orleans Saints are expected to make a run at New England Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins in free agency, as first reported by The Athletic’s Larry Holder and backed up by ESPN’s Mike Triplett. Collins would make sense for the Saints, who are hurting for health at linebacker — starters Alex Anzalone and Kiko Alonso are both returning from season-ending injuries, and the Saints can clear more than $8 million in salary cap space by releasing Alonso outright. Starting strong side linebacker A.J. Klein is a free agent.
But what does Collins have to offer? What’s he shown to draw interest from New Orleans? To find out, we put together a snapshot of some of his advanced stats from the 2019 season:
What he can do
Collins might be at his best in pass coverage, which is a great attribute for a linebacker to boast. Pro Football Focus charting revealed that 66 linebackers were targeted 30 or more times in coverage last season, and Collins was the best of the bunch. He was the only player in that group to allow a passer rating below 73.0 (impressing with a mark of 55.0), intercepting three passes and limiting opponents to just 7.6 yards gained per catch. He’s a force in that area of the game, which is vital with so many pass-happy teams on the Saints’ schedule.
However, Collins also excels when asked to go get after the quarterback rather than cover receivers downfield. Pro Football Focus credited him with 32 total pressures in 2019, including a career-high 7 sacks. But it’s worth noting that he bagged just one sack after Week 8, which suggests either his usage changed or teams protected better against him. Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen is one of the more creative blitz designers in the NFL, and it’s easy to imagine him giving Collins a variety of responsibilities each week to keep opponents guessing.
What he struggles with
Collins was a sloppy tackler in 2019, with Pro Football Focus dinging him for 16 missed tackles against just 85 combined tackles (solos plus assists). Pro Football Reference was a little more forgiving, noting 12 misses on 81 total tackles. Either way, that puts Collins’ missed tackle rate in the range of 15.8% to 12.9%, which is a clear dropoff from Pro Football Reference’s numbers on Demario Davis (4.3%), Alonso (6.1%), and Klein (9.2%). He’ll have to clean that up on a play-to-play basis in order to remain on the field and make game-changing turnovers and key stops.
Also, Collins has struggled to buy into the culture with some of his previous teams. He was accused of freelancing in his first stint with the Patriots, abandoning his responsibilities and deviating from the script. The Cleveland Browns pulled him off the field at times during heated moments of frustration. But he appeared to have turned over a new leaf in his return to New England, and there’s no confusing the Browns coaching carousel for the stability the Saints offer in New Orleans.
How he fits
If signed, Collins would immediately replace Klein as the starter on the strong side. While Davis nominally plays the weak side, the Saints typically field just two linebackers (opting instead for a fifth defensive back), and he often shifts to the middle spot and wears the green sticker identifying the on-field headset. Davis would continue quarterbacking the defense while Collins plays up tight to the line of scrimmage, scrapping with blockers and pursuing the ball-carrier from behind when the play flows away from him.
Klein had some success in that role last season, but his athletic limitations were on clear display in games against teams that committed to running the football, targeting him as a liability out in space. The San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings each picked on Klein’s struggles to flip his hips and mirror elusive runners like Raheem Mostert and Dalvin Cook, and Christian McCaffrey had success against the outmatched linebacker in coverage. Collins’ unique lateral agility and instincts in coverage would do a lot to erase those vulnerabilities.
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