2021 1st round pick is Zaven Collins

[Dback Jon]

Good player that will be wasted his rookie season courtesy of VJ.

All this talk of trading down only for SK to make the predictable pick is just sad. Typically Keim Time.

Somebody has to want to trade up.

 

[GoldGloveschmidt]

Fire Steve Keim

 

[Dante]

I know SK loves to reach in the draft but he should have at least went with someone like Newsome instead. What is the plan at CB? Just run out a bunch of retread veterans and hope they don't get burned as much as PP did last season?

 

[Dr. Jones]

Reddick -> Simmons -> Collins.

That's an insane amount of capital in 4 drafts.

 

[Vacard]

We have to spy on Trey Lance. Twice.

 

[GoldGloveschmidt]

Late riser, small school, could have been had 10 picks later....sounds like a Keim Pick.

Lets hope hes Khalil Mack

He's not.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

Career Stats
Games Played: 32

Tackles: 236
Tackles For a loss: 25.0
Sacks: 7.5
Forced Fumbles: 3
Passes Defensed: 8
Interceptions: 5

Stats
Games Played: 8

Tackles: 54
Tackles For a loss: 7.5
Sacks: 4.0
Forced Fumbles: 2
Passes Defensed: 2
Interceptions: 4

Quick Summary
Best: Size, athleticism, space play, versatility, football IQ
Worst: Block shedding, absolute athleticism
Projection: A starting outside linebacker with scheme versatility.

Full Report
Tusla outside linebacker Zaven Collins has a rare blend of size and athleticism for the position at any level of football.

Collins typically aligned as the outside linebacker on the weak side of the offense in Tulsa’s 335 “Stack Dime” defense. He has a very high football IQ, which shows up in all phases of the play, starting with good communication with his teammates before the snap.

Collins is an exceptional athlete, particularly for his size, moving fluidly in space as an off-ball linebacker. He quickly gets good depth on his drops into zone coverage, hitting his landmarks with little wasted effort and showing good range once in coverage. He also has the ability to run with most tight ends and running backs in coverage, and even some receivers. Collins keeps his eyes in the backfield when in zone coverage and does a great job of reading the quarterback’s eyes from the second level. He allows the quarterback to lead him to the play and uses his length and closing burst to arrive in a hurry. Collins has good ball skills and his sheer size makes him disruptive at the catch point.

He is a willing run defender, diagnosing running plays quickly and coming downhill to fill a gap or pursue from the backside without hesitation. Collins speed and explosiveness allow him to beat blockers to a spot, while his length allows him to make plays outside of his frame. Likewise, he has the athletic traits to be a threat as a pass rusher, seeing and exploiting rushing lanes well when asked to blitz.

Collins struggles to take on blockers, particularly for such a big linebacker. He can lose leverage when taking on offensive linemen, making it easy for them to knock him off his rush or out of a gap. Likewise, he needs to improve his hand usage when attempting to shed blockers. He is capable of standing blockers up and setting a firm edge in run support, but can get hung up on them and struggle to make plays once blocked.

Overall Grade: 8.5 - This prospect has a rare combination of mental and athletic traits, and should be a starter immediately, though he will need some development to reach his full potential.

Projection
Zaven Collins projects as a starting linebacker with scheme diversity in the NFL.

Tulsa primarily used him as a weakside linebacker in their stack dime (also known as “335” or “Air Raid Killer”) defense. Outside linebackers in that defense need to wear a number of different hats, with duties ranging from EDGE defender to true off-ball outside linebacker, and occasionally even box safety. Collins performed all of those responsibilities well, and improved seemingly every game of his college career. He is an excellent athlete, and not just for his size, with the range to cover half the field, track down ball carriers or spy quarterbacks from the second level, and the speed to blow past blockers as a blitzer.

He doesn’t quite have the short-area quickness of a true off-ball WILL linebacker who is 20 or 30 pounds lighter, and that can show up on occasion. However, his ability to execute such a wide range of responsibilities is nothing but impressive.

The most glaring weakness in Collins’ game is how he deals with blockers. He has a tendency to play like a smaller linebacker around the line of scrimmage, and not stack and shed blockers like expected from a 260 pound linebacker. Instead, he appears to try to rely on his athleticism to run around, or past, blockers and doesn’t fare too well once engaged.

While that could be a red flag for other prospects, Collins’ intangibles suggest that he should be able to remedy the deficiency with NFL coaching.

Collins has managed to transform himself from a relatively unknown three-star recruit to one of the nations’ best defensive players in a year. The arc of his growth suggests that he is only getting better and his best football is likely still ahead of him.

https://www.bigblueview.com/2021/4/...n-collins-olb-tulsa-scouting-report-ny-giants

 

[QuebecCard]

a reach, but he is a stud. coulda had him in the 20s i'm sure

Hear this every year...

 

[juza76]

I like the player I don't like the selection, considering our needs

 

[cardsunsfan]

I would have taken Farley... Ranked higher and a bigger position of need.

 

[QuebecCard]

Our quarterback ain't to happy right now.

???

KM said we needed to upgrade our D.

 

[kerouac9]

Reddick -> Simmons -> Collins.

That's an insane amount of capital in 4 drafts.

You can go back to Bucannon and Kevin Minter, too!

If someone wants to photoshop joker makeup on a picture of Keim I’ll make it my avatar

 

[GatorAZ]

Smith
Waddle
AVT
Surtain
Horn

I mean whatcha gonna do...

 

[imaCafan]

Prisco gives the pick a B+….

 

[The6]

we have lots of holes. nearly everyone expected defense of some sort with the 1st round, what did you expect

No expectations. None. Zero. Was I clear?

 

[unseenaz]

No expectations. None. Zero. Was I clear?

you just said we have an unhappy QB, which frankly makes zero sense.

 

[The6]

you just said we have an unhappy QB, which frankly makes zero sense.

Get some sleep brother or find someone else to argue with. Happy trails..

 

[Russ Smith]

I gotta believe the next pick is going to be a WR so I guess now we hope Rondale Moore is there.

I don't hate the pick largely because I've never seen Tulsa play so I am just going off highlights and athletic ability.

The guy he kind of reminds me of a Pittsburgh LB and if you did any research on him at all that's the team lots of people thought would end up picking him, the Steelers. I know it's one year and again Tulsa but you just don't see guys that big around the football so much. he had four interceptions this year and if you watch the highlights he nearly had 2-3 more he appears to be one of those guys who just has a knack for getting in the passing lanes.

Like others I am concerned about how we'll use him but I do think he's got a chance to be really good eventually.

I was hoping for an immediate impact guy but I do like Collins

 

[Cardsfaninlouky]

They said he's like 270 lbs which is a concern if he's gotta cover RB's & TE's? Depends on where they use him really? If he ends up replacing Hicks after next season at the Mike he won't have to lose as much weight. If he is to play on the outside he may have to shed about 30 lbs imo?

 

[Dr. Jones]

Time to read some Football Outsiders:

https://www.footballoutsiders.com/futures/2021/futures-tulsa-lb-zaven-collins

Few players are as easy to immediately identify on tape as Tulsa Golden Hurricane linebacker Zaven Collins. As soon as you turn on the tape, the 6-foot-5, 259-pound dude wearing No. 23 sticks out clear as day. Any random person off the street could identify the NFL player on that defense.

 

[SoonerLou]

He'll be subtweeting about him this time next year.

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[unseenaz]

Get some sleep brother or find someone else to argue with. Happy trails..

lol? ok bud. just quoting your own words

 

[Buckybird]

Love it! Watched him many times, the kids a playmaker. I think his future could be at OLB if his pass rushing skills further develop

 

[slanidrac16]

Hey VJ where will Collins play?

Well, we'll figure that out. We'll find a spot. He gives us versatillity.

UGH....

 

[gmabel830]

Hey VJ where will Collins play?

Well, we'll figure that out. We'll find a spot. He gives us versatillity.

UGH....

So the bench then early


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Cardsfaninlouky]

I gotta believe the next pick is going to be a WR so I guess now we hope Rondale Moore is there.

I don't hate the pick largely because I've never seen Tulsa play so I am just going off highlights and athletic ability.

The guy he kind of reminds me of a Pittsburgh LB and if you did any research on him at all that's the team lots of people thought would end up picking him, the Steelers. I know it's one year and again Tulsa but you just don't see guys that big around the football so much. he had four interceptions this year and if you watch the highlights he nearly had 2-3 more he appears to be one of those guys who just has a knack for getting in the passing lanes.

Like others I am concerned about how we'll use him but I do think he's got a chance to be really good eventually.

I was hoping for an immediate impact guy but I do like Collins

He is said to have the biggest wing span in this draft for a defensive player, that may help in batting away balls in coverage. His weight concerns me though, didn't realize he was that heavy?