Landon Collins to Giants: New York Selects DB in 2015 NFL Draft

Former Alabama safety Landon Collins didn't hear his name called during Day 1 of the 2015 NFL draft, but that just allowed the New York Giants to grab a great value pick after trading up  to pick No. 33 to draft the safety.

Continue for updates. 

---

Collins Selected By Giants With Pick No. 33

Friday, May 1

The NFL announced that the Giants selected Collins with the 33rd overall selection after making a trade with the Tennessee Titans to acquire the pick on Friday.

Giants offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz tweeted his praise of the pick:

Collins' skills in pass coverage aren't great, which likely resulted in his slide out of the first round, but he's vicious against the run. Being able to drop a safety into the box has great value in today's NFL, though getting better in the secondary will determine his ultimate ceiling. 

Being able to run all over the field is a valuable commodity in a safety. Collins is able to do that, though one scout told Mark Eckel of NJ.com in February that a lack of versatility does knock him down:

"

He's not as good as (Ha Ha Clinton-)Dix. He's better than (Calvin) Pryor. I like (Deone) Bucannon better, but that's me. (Collins) is a good, solid player. He's not what you would term special. He's more of an in the box guy than a cover guy. But overall he's a good player.

"

Bucannon is an interesting comparison for Collins. Arizona drafted Bucannon as a safety out of Washington State in the first round last year, but he wound up spending time at linebacker because of injuries and team needs.

Collins is a big, thick safety. He measured in at 6'0" and 228 pounds during the combine. If he is seen as a liability in coverage coming out of college, he's got a nice fallback plan being able to move down into a hybrid safety-linebacker spot to stop the run and go after the quarterback. 

Doing that right away will allow Collins to contribute, though the Giants will still have to use him in coverage to develop that skill. He's got the necessary physical tools to become a star NFL safety, but it will take time for him to get there.