2015 Atlanta Falcons Potential Draft Pick Profile: S/LB Landon Collins

The Atlanta Falcons need some talent infused into one of the worst defenses in the NFL. Landon Collins out of Alabama would easily bring some talent to a linebacking corps that was one of the worst in 2014. If he plays safety, he would be a solid reserve behind William Moore until Moore retired.

Falcons head coach Dan Quinn would know exactly how to utilize Collins and a hybrid safety/linebacker role similar to the "Spur" role in South Carolina's defensive scheme could be his ideal fit. The Falcons just need to collect talent, and they could do worse than Collins in the second round.

Landon Collins

Safety/Linebacker

University of Alabama

Combine/Pro Day Measurements

Height: 6'0" Weight: 228 pounds

Arm Length: 31-1/2" Hand Measurement: 9-3/8"

40 yard dash: 4.53 sec. 10 yard split: 1.58 sec.

20 yard shuttle: 4.33 sec. 3-cone Drill: 7.38 sec. Bench Reps: 16 reps

Vertical Jump: 35.0" Broad Jump: 10'0"

Stats

2014: 14 Games Played, 102 Tackles, 4.5 Tackles for Loss, 1 QB Hurry, 3 Interceptions, 1 Fumble Forced, 1 Fumble Recovered, 7 Pass Deflections, 3 Kick Returns, 55 Yards

2013: 13 Games Played, 69 Tackles, 4.0 Tackles for Loss, 2 QB Hurries, 2 Interceptions, 2 Fumbles Forced, 1 Fumble Recovered, 6 Pass Deflections, 1 Defensive Touchdown

2012: 14 Games Played, 17 Tackles, 1 Blocked Kick, 1 Punt Return, 13 Yards

Scouting Report

Strengths

Collins is extremely good in shorter and intermediate zone coverages. He does his best work when he covers over the middle of the field in true drop-back situations. The Alabama product makes his best plays on the ball when he is in robber zones and seems to have his best vision there.

He's also excellent against the run and understands how to take proper pursuit angles to lessen the damage on plays to the other side of the field. Collins is also extremely versatile and could slide down to linebacker in a nickel role to maximize his range underneath.

Weaknesses

When put into man coverage, Collins looks like a fish out of water. He looks lost and has no idea what he's doing. And when he's covering running backs in the flats coming out of the backfield, he has a ton of trouble not overpursuing and missing the play completely.

He's also not very good at playing in deep center coverages. While he understands the concepts of a quarters zone deep, he doesn't do a good job of getting proper depth when asked to play center field and doesn't break on the ball very well back there. He doesn't have the range to succeed there.

How does he fit the Comrade Filter?

Collins has never been suspended or arrested and should fit in well to the Falcons locker room, as Nick Saban runs essentially an NFL-caliber locker room in Tuscaloosa. He did have some drama on national signing day during recruitment because his mom wanted him to go to LSU instead of Alabama.

This led to an extremely comical clip—as seen below—that was played on many major outlets that day. Collins should do fine in the pros off the field, as he seems very humble in his interviews and seems to be a very football-savvy individual on the field.

Overview

Collins is almost the spitting image of Moore coming out of college only Moore was much better deep and could play man coverage more effectively. He's a good overall prospect and should be a very successful player in the NFL, but one has to wonder what a switch to linebacker would do for him.

He seems to have better range for the position and it's not like a 6'0", almost 230-pound linebacker couldn't succeed when guys like Lavonte David has done exceptionally well at the position. Overall, he's a good talent, but he shouldn't play free safety in the NFL.

How he would fit into the Falcons' plans

Collins would likely have to fall to the Falcons pick at 42. He's not worth the No. 8 overall pick because he's not good at playing the deep ball and shouldn't be asked to do so in his next scheme. Nonetheless, if Atlanta takes him, it could use him at strong safety and see if Moore can cover deep at free.

The combination of Collins and Moore could be an interesting one and should be exceptional against the run. In the end, the Falcons would have a solid talent to plug into one of the least talented defenses from 2014 and turn them into a true contender—even if he did have to switch to weak-side linebacker.

All stats used are from Pro Football Focus' Premium Stats, ESPN.com, CFBStats or NFL.com. All combine and pro day info is courtesy of NFLDraftScout.com. All contract information is courtesy of Spotrac.

Scott Carasik is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He covers the Atlanta Falcons, college football, the NFL and the NFL draft. He's also a Draft Analyst for Pro Football Spot.

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