Jamie Collins

[Team Tacos]

Glowing reports out of camp for this guy as a 3 down LB. Apparently he even got some snaps at TE in the redzone. Am I crazy to keep him over Darren McFadden? This is for team one in my signature, where I've lost Lee and Alonso this offseason.

[TommyL31]

Not sure I would drop McFadden but I would definitely keep him over some of your other LBers. I like him better than Cole and Rey.

[breeze]

It wouldn't be crazy to keep Phil Collins over Mcfadden.

[Team Tacos]

It wouldn't be crazy to keep Phil Collins over Mcfadden.

I can feeeeel it comin in the air toniiiiight OH LAWD

Not sure I would drop McFadden but I would definitely keep him over some of your other LBers. I like him better than Cole and Rey.

Not planning to keep Cole and Rey at this point. Currently planned keepers are in bold. I'm trying to trade RunDMC at the moment, but I doubt anyone will bite. We'll see

[MR ROURKE]

Yea, I'd drop Cole to pick him up. Told everyone Collie was going to be a 3-down back when he came out. I'd keep Collins over Burnett. Lee is a questionalbe keeper since he can't seem to stay healthy

[Team Tacos]

Yea, I'd drop Cole to pick him up. Told everyone Collie was going to be a 3-down back when he came out. I'd keep Collins over Burnett. Lee is a questionalbe keeper since he can't seem to stay healthy

Already have Collins, so that's what's up. I know, I've been thinking about dropping Lee, I'm sure I could pick him up late in the draft and let him ride my IR all year. If I keep the players I'm planning on in bold below, I'll have Lee, Alonso, and Gordon taking up 3 of 5 IR spots all year.

[Phaded]

I don't know what kind of LBs will end up back in the pool - but I would keep Collins over McFadden.

[rlwomack]

Collins is a beast. Watched him for 4 years. The kid was a QB/DB in HS and started his freshman year at Southern Miss. His sophomore year, he bulked up and moved to LB. His junior and senior year he moved to the elephant (DE) position. The reason he didn't get a lot of pub besides playing for a non AQ BCS team was that Southern Miss hired SEC defensive guru Ellis Johnson who totally flopped and went 0-12 in 2012. Belichick made a personal visit to Hattiesburg, MS to work Collins out and used his first pick of the draft on him (2nd round). Word is he will be three down, can play inside and out, and will be able to cover TE and some WRs. I am trying to acquire him in leagues I don't have him because I believe he is going to be really special. With his 40.5" vertical leap, I wouldn't put it past Belichick to have him play a few plays of TE to high point the ball.

Here's a pic showing his leaping ability. If I remember correctly, I believe this was his freshman year bowl game in New Orleans but may be his sophomore year bowl game.

[KMA]

Here is a recent write up from FootballGuys. I know it's just one man's opinion but it stood out as the first (low opinion) I have read to date.

That brings us to the wildcard in the mix; last year's second round pick Jamie Collins. As a rookie he was called upon to start ten games including two in the playoffs. Seven of those starts came on the weak side. Interestingly, it was not until the playoff that he was on the field in sub package situations. Coming out of college Collins was seen by many as an explosive edge rusher who would best fit as an outside linebacker in a 3-4. He recorded 10 sacks and a number of other big plays as a senior at Southern Miss but coverage was not considered to be among the strengths of his game. Many owners have targeted Collins as a late round sleeper this summer. While I cannot argue with his potential, I am less optimistic than most on this player. With the addition of veteran James Anderson, I can easily see both Hightower and Collins continuing as two down players much like Hightower and Spikes have done for the past two seasons. Anderson is a versatile veteran with plenty of starting experience at both outside positions in a 4-3. Most significantly, he is very good in coverage. We know that one of the things Bilichick does to promote chemistry is to have a role for nearly everyone. He rarely signs a veteran like Anderson simply to provide depth. Thus I believe we will see Anderson and Mayo on the field together in passing down sub packages. I also can see Anderson having good value as a three down linebacker if there is an injury to any of the three starters.

MLB/WLB Jerod Mayo - Quality LB1
SLB/MLB Donta Hightower - Minimal value at best
WLB/SLB Jamie Collins - Risk/reward sleeper with good upside
WLB/SLB James Anderson - Injury sleeper with LB3 potential

Source: http://subscribers.footballguys.com/app ... 4guru_afce (John Norton)


I don't think I am going to worry myself too much about the possibility of Collins being only a two down player. Until I see Anderson stealing reps during training camp, I am going to operate under the premise that Collins will rarely come off the field. Opinions have been glowing across the board except here. This was published July 14, 2014. Thoughts?

[TommyL31]

I wouldn't dispute anything about Anderson's skill set but I wouldn't be surprised if they brought him in for depth and/or to be a situational player. It's not like they spent a ton of money on him (1 year $920,000). He's still making less than Hightower and Collins. I think the more telling thing in my opinion is how he was used late in the year. Both Hightower and Collins played virtually every snap in the 2 playoff games. And that is a desperation play given Hightower's lackluster coverage skills. I can see them operating similarly next year with Collins and Mayo as the 3 down LB and Hightower's snaps falling off.

Maybe Anderson rotates in occasionally for all 3 of them to keep guys fresh but that could be 25% of the snaps. I also think that the WLB in Belichick's system is a very productive role in general so even if they ease Collins in this year he could have some value and looks like a 3 down player at some point.

[Team Tacos]

James Anderson was great on the Panthers, but somehow fell flat on the Bears last year. Also, he's a Hokie, so Go Hokies.

But Collins' highlights from last year are ridiculous. He's all over the field, rushing the passer, dropping in coverage, making accurate, high speed tackles in space... I know those are specifically chosen highlights for a reason, I don't see how they can sit him in favor of Anderson.

[Bronx Bomber]

I really hope that's not Christine Michael you're planning to cut...

[Team Tacos]

I really hope that's not Christine Michael you're planning to cut...

No way, due to our rookie bench keeper rules i don't have to use a keeper spot on him or Ansah. Good point though, I can see why that's confusing. I might make them bold as well.

[Team Tacos]

So ourlads has Jamie Collins listed as starting SLB, had thought he'd be at WLB. Patriots site just lists 3 LBs and he's one of the starters. Does this hurt Jamie's value at all?

[evorzan]

One would have to imagine so. More rare for a LB to produce fantasy stats at a startable level from SLB compared to WLB. I think he's good, but he'd have to be special to pull that off.