4 NFL teams that should try to sign Landon Collins

In a crowded safety market, Collins is the best available.

The New York Giantscuriously let one of their best players hit free agency when they opted not to put the franchise tag on Pro Bowl safety Landon Collins. Collins, who just turned 25 in January, should have a pretty healthy market as he looks for the first big payday of his career.

Collins broke out in 2016 when he stuffed the stat sheet with 125 tackles, nine tackles for loss, four sacks, 13 passes defended, and five interceptions — including one returned for a touchdown. He’s a do-it-all safety who should get a long-term deal relatively quickly once free agency starts March 13.

Coming in at No. 4 on our top free agents list, Collins is the best available safety in a crowded market this offseason. He doesn’t have the injury concerns of Earl Thomas, the age concerns of Eric Weddle, and he has more production than a guy like Lamarcus Joyner. Even in 2018, which was a down year for Collins, he still had 96 tackles and five tackles for loss.

Here are a few teams that could be interested in his services.

Green Bay Packers

The Packers could use a talent like Landon Collins in their secondary. Last season, they played 35-year-old Tramon Williams and former undrafted free agent Kentrell Brice at safety after trading away Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to Washington.

Collins would be a significant upgrade for the Packers and has the flexibility to play multiple spots in Mike Pettine’s defense. Outside of safety, Collins would be a nice fit as a blitzer up the middle and off the edge — he would instantly become the Packers’ best defensive back not named Jaire Alexander. Collins did a lot of blitzing with the Giants; this sack against Joe Flacco in 2016 shows that capability:

Green Bay hasn’t had a safety like Landon Collins since Nick Collins’ final season in 2011. This is a chance to get a playmaker on the back end of their defense that the Packers haven’t had in almost a decade.

Indianapolis Colts

Indianapolis has a lot of power in free agency this year. The Colts have a projected $105.8 million dollars in cap space, according to Spotrac. If they want to, they can outbid other teams for a player like Collins and still have room to add more free agents.

The Colts will have a hole at safety if they opt to not re-sign Clayton Geathers, who is about to hit free agency as well. Collins is a jack-of-all-trades safety like Geathers, but he plays at a higher level than Geathers does. Geathers had a career high with 89 tackles in 2018 — that would have been the worst mark of Collins’ career.

Indianapolis had a defense that outperformed expectations last season, ranking 10th in Football Outsiders’ defensive DVOA metric. If the Colts can add a few more pieces with their abundance of cap space, they might be able to become one of the best defenses in the entire league.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs are a sneaky fit for Collins if they decide to move on from Eric Berry this offseason. Berry has a dead cap number of $14.95 million, but they can spread that cap hit out over the next two offseasons if they label him as a post-June 1 release.

That would open the door for the Chiefs to sign a similar player in Collins. Collins has had a bit more recent success than Berry and hasn’t had the same injury problems that have plagued Berry lately. Berry has missed 29 games over the past two seasons while Collins has missed just five in his four-year career.

Fixing their secondary has to be the top priority in Kansas City this offseason. The Chiefs finished second-to-last in passing yards allowed last year. Specifically, they got ripped up by tight ends, allowing 1,067 yards and 10 touchdowns. The 1,067 yards ranked 30th in the league. Here’s an example from the Giants’ game against the Texans that shows how Collins can play man coverage against tight ends.

Collins could also help their run defense that ranked 31st in the league, allowing five yards per carry. Here’s a clip of him forcing a fumble against Adrian Peterson.

Also, Collins had his breakout 2016 season under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who now holds the same title with the Chiefs.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers have desperately needed an upgrade at safety for years. They have a promising player in Justin Evans, their second-round pick from the 2017 draft, but they could use a star talent next to him.

Like the Chiefs, the Bucs surrendered a lot of receiving yards to opposing tight ends last season. Tampa Bay gave up 1,061 yards to tight ends, which ranked just ahead of Kansas City. A player like Collins would give Bruce Arians’ team a chance to dramatically improve on that number in 2019 while adding a long-term safety to pair with Evans.

New defensive coordinator Todd Bowles just got done coaching Jamal Adams, who is a similar player to Collins, for the past two seasons. Bowles would likely already have an idea about what to do with Collins right away.

In a division that features the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints, bringing in players who can defend the pass is crucial. Tampa Bay ranked dead last in the league last season, allowing 8.2 yards per pass attempt. Signing Collins would be a great start to the Bucs’ offseason.