Today, we are examining Michigan wide receiver Nico Collins, who opted out of the 2020 college football season and declared for the 2021 NFL Draft.
Strengths: At 6’4” and 216 lbs, Collins is a very physically-imposing player. Collins is extremely good in contested catch situations. He utilizes savvy, physical handwork to clear himself from his defender then locates the ball, leaps, adjusts, and makes the catch. His height, leaping ability, and adjustment ability gift him an incredible catch radius. Combining these traits with his sure hands, Collins can easily bail out poor ball placement from a quarterback and makes catches other receivers would not. Collins dominates press coverage, with good footwork and a solid burst for his size to get a step on his man early. His strength allows him to work through route contact and make catches in traffic working the middle of the field. Collins is a physical, willing run blocker as well.
Weaknesses: Collins lacks the twitch and quickness in small areas to get short underneath completions to move the chains, but he also lacks true deep speed to stack cornerbacks and gain separation on vertical routes. Collins is not at all a poor athlete, especially considering his size, but he is not quite good enough in this department to be a high-level separator, which may limit him to contested-catch situations. Collins was never a high-volume receiver at Michigan.
Bottom Line: Collins bullies press coverage with his size and play strength, and he thrives in contested catch situations, displaying admirable leaping and adjustment ability. However, he may be limited to the contested catch in the NFL due to a lack of high-level twitch, quickness, or deep speed, especially when considering that he was never a high-volume receiver in college. He will excel in the red-zone and make impressive contested grabs, but he is not nearly well-rounded enough or good enough of a separator to warrant a high selection.
NFL Draft Projection: Early-mid Day 2
My grade: 3.3 (indicative of an early-mid third round grade)
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