New York Giants S Landon Collins Shows Signs of Leadership in 1st Offseason

Landon Collins has been a New York Giant for less than three months, but he's wasting no time in his pursuit of a leadership role from his safety position on defense.

When the team closed minicamp on Thursday, head coach Tom Coughlin praised Collins for the progress he has made so far in the defensive backfield.

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

"Collins has done a good job, gotten better and really done a good job of starting to direct back there" Coughlin told reporters at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. "I think the coaches are excited about him going forward."

Before the draft, New York's need at safety was as obvious as the game is gritty.

Lacking veteran depth and desperate for an impact playmaker, the Giants did not hesitate when an opportunity to snag arguably the best safety in the 2015 draft class arose. By trading up to the first pick of the second round, Big Blue was able to kickstart Day 2 of the draft with the electrifying selection of Collins.

An Alabama product, Collins developed into a defensive difference-maker while sharing in three seasons of the Crimson Tide's national spotlight.

As a freshman in 2012, he became a national champion. A year later, he became an All-SEC selection. Last season, he became a unanimous first-team All-American. Collins left Alabama a year early more than ready to make an impact at the professional ranks.

40-yd. Dash	Vert	Broad	3-Cone	20-yd. Shuttle	60-yd. Shuttle
4.53 sec.	35.0"	120.0"	7.38 sec.	4.33 sec.	11.94 sec.

As enticing as Collins' measurables are—he stands 6'0" tall, weighs 225 pounds and runs a 4.53-second 40-yard dash—the Giants were likely just as drawn to his intangible characteristics.

Leadership, for one, is neither uncomfortable nor unfamiliar to Collins. In fact, it's natural. The safety says he has always been a leader on the football field.

"Being vocal is very natural to me," Collins said. "I've been vocal my whole career."

Collins' willingness to be vocal is a huge plus, as communication will be key for the Giants to survive on defense. There's a good chance New York's other starting safety—whether it's Cooper Taylor, Nat Berhe, Mykkele Thompson or Bennett Jackson—will have no more starting experience than the second-round rookie.

Steve Spagnuolo, who's coordinating the Giants' defensive rebuild this season, touched on the importance of trust and the challenge his unit will have in establishing it with such inexperienced starters at safety:

"

There's youth and there's inexperience there. And it doesn't matter what system you're in, in my opinion, defensively, those two particular guys are really important and everybody else relies on them. So, the quicker we can get to the other nine trusting them, the better off we'll be. I'm not sure that we're there yet. I think it's going to be a work in progress. But we'll get there and guys can do it.

"

One player who knows a thing or two about leading a defense is Jon Beason, who was named a team captain last year after joining the team via midseason trade the year before. Beason also talked about the role trust plays, corroborating Spagnuolo's claim from a linebacker's perspective.

"When you don't have that veteran guy behind you, you're relying on verbiage because you can't turn around," Beason said. The starting middle linebacker went on to praise Collins for his "outstanding" work to date, saying that it has made his job "a whole lot easier."

Collins will face very few physical limitations as a rookie. He's one of the finest athletes New York has on the defensive side of the ball.

His biggest challenge, as Beason points out, will be to memorize the team's specific terminology. After all, Collins said in his interview that the coverages the Giants employ aren't all that different than the ones he ran at Alabama—the names are just different.

Safeties coach David Merritt is determined to stay on top of Collins and make sure he's constantly correcting the young defensive back's mistakes.

"When it comes to his man-to-man ability, when it comes to him making calls—whatever it may be—I have to make sure I strengthen his strengths, and I have to make sure that I work on his weaknesses as well," Merritt said.

A report by ESPN's Dan Graziano from minicamp this week highlighted the "very slow" development of New York's safeties. Although it's a frustrating headline for many Giants fans to read, it also deserves a little more context.

The team is asking a 21-year-old to take on a major leadership role, and expecting him to have it mastered by the end of minicamp is ludicrous.

Rome wasn't built in a day, and Collins won't become an All-Pro overnight.

The Giants made a bold, definitive move in the draft to get the guy they wanted for their secondary. He hasn't even had the opportunity to showcase his physicality, which was by far his most touted asset coming out of college, and he's already earning the praise of his coaches and teammates.

Imagine what they'll be saying about Collins when they see him go full speed and full contact against an opponent for the first time.

The fact that Collins is already making defensive calls—and is confident in his ability to do so—bodes well for the future of New York's defense.

All quotes courtesy of Giants.com.

Kevin Boilard writes about the New York Giants at Bleacher Report.