Giants Country

New York Giants 2023 UFA Primer: S/LB Landon Collins

Landon Collins would reportedly like to retire as a member of the Giants. But will the UFA get that chance?

Stephen Lebitsch

New York Giants 2023 UFA Primer: S/LB Landon Collins
New York Giants 2023 UFA Primer: S/LB Landon Collins /
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Landon Collins, Safety/Linebacker

Height: 6-foot-0
Weight: 222 lbs.
Age: 29
NFL Exp: 8 Years
College: Alabama

One of the fan-favorite moments of the New York Giants season was the return of safety Landon Collins midway through their overachieving campaign. Yet, reunited after a multi-year hiatus, the second round of production wouldn’t be as ceremonious.

A unanimous All-American and three-time Pro Bowler, Collins rejoined the Giants in October 2022 and was signed to the practice squad until his first appearances in Weeks 7 and 8. He played six games for the team, including one in the postseason, and made some big plays to help them solidify their latest playoff berth.

Before that, the 29-year-old began his NFL career with his first stint in New York from 2015-2018 after being drafted 33rd overall by the Giants. Then he became an unrestricted free agent in 2019 after the two sides couldn’t meet on an extension and agreed to a six-year, $84 million contract with the Washington Redskins to keep his talents in the NFC East division.

Collins was a three-year starter at the University of Alabama from 2012-2014, where he appeared in 41 games and recorded 190 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, five interceptions, and three forced fumbles, with one returning for six points. The New Orleans native crossed 100 total tackles, 4.5 TFLs, three picks, and a forced fumble in his senior year with the Crimson Tide, an outing that earned him the All-American nod and First-Team All-SEC recognition.

In his rookie campaign with the Giants, Collins was named the starting free safety after the departure of several defensive veterans to free agency and tallied 112 tackles, one forced fumble, one interception, and nine passes batted to receive a PFWA All-Rookie Team honor in 2015. 

His next three seasons with Big Blue saw resumes of at least 96 tackles, four sacks, two fumbles, seven interceptions, and a defensive touchdown. Still, the front office elected to part ways with the safety instead of forking out a huge contract to retain him.

Shifting down the east coast to Washington with his new lucrative deal, Collins’ tenure with the Redskins would be met only by consecutive injuries that limited his time on the field and brought questions to the massive payday the organization invested in him. After having his third 100+ tackle season in 2019, Collins suffered a torn Achilles in 2020 and a foot ailment in 2021, cutting his appearances to 20 contests and production significantly en route to a post-June 1 release that summer.

Scouring the market for rentals amid injuries to players like Xavier McKinney in the secondary, the Giants brought back their former second-round pick to offer depth to their defense during a late-season push to the playoffs. That rental has ended, and it’s up to the front office to decide if they will invest in a familiar face this time around.

2022 Recap

When Landon Collins returned to the Giants for the second time in October, the organization was already ravaged by injuries in the secondary and interior. Thus, they elected to try something Washington did with the safety during the 2021 season–play him in a hybrid safety-linebacker position.

Collins made his first contest with Big Blue in Week 7 against the Jaguars, where he notched just one tackle in the team’s 23-17 down-to-the-wire win. He was sent back to the practice squad until being activated for Week 15 against his former team, the Commanders, collecting three tackles and a stuff to help the Giants win 20-12 and leave with greater postseason probability.

The chase for the team’s first playoff berth in six seasons was where Collins had his true welcome-back moment in East Rutherford. In a narrow 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, he helped limit the opposing offense with a season-high four tackles, one sack, and a deflected pass.

Then the veteran picked off a quick route against Parris Campbell of the Indianapolis Colts in Week 17, taking it 52 yards to the house to secure the Giants 38-10 routing and official stamp into extended January football.

Through the remainder of the season, culminating in New York’s 38-7 defeat in the Divisional Round against Philadelphia, Collins would add four more tackles and finish 2022 with 15 takedowns, one sack, one interception return for a touchdown, and two deflected passes.

GIANTS UFA PRIMERS: QB Daniel Jones | IOL Nick Gates | RB Saquon Barkley | C Jon Feliciano | IDL Justin Ellis | RB Matt Breida | LS Casey Kreiter | OLB Jihad Ward | Sterling Shepard | IDL Nicholas Williams | DB Tony Jefferson

Why the Giants Should Keep Him

The New York Giants have a few positions in need of reinforcements this offseason, and there’s no doubt the safeties room is on that list.

As it stands, the safety position has three unrestricted free agents set to hit the market (Julian Love, Collins, and Tony Jefferson), and it’s highly unlikely the team will bring all of them back in 2023. 

Love, a fourth-year member of the Giants, seems destined for a new contract after posting his best season in blue and holding a rising leadership role with captain Xavier McKinney. That leaves the franchise with McKinney, Love, and Dane Belton, potentially looking at resigning Collins as a depth piece for the hybrid linebacker position, which the 29-year-old could excel at with his record in tackling and pass rushing.

While the majority of his career snaps have come in rushing defense and deep field coverage, Collins represents one of the best all-around tacklers on the Giants roster. He crossed the 100-tackle mark in four seasons and has never let more than 15 tackles go by him in a year. His average missed tackles percentage sits at 11.9% in eight seasons, and his lowest numbers came under 10% in consecutive years with the Giants in 2016-17.

The veteran’s tackling prowess translates well into pass-rushing schemes, where he does a good job pressuring the quarterback and disrupting throws from the pocket. Collins has posted a pass-rushing grade of 70.4 or better in seven of his professional seasons (career-high 94.1 in 2019) and logged ten sacks, nine hits, 37 hurries, 22 pass breakups, 12 interceptions, and seven forced fumbles. All of this disruption happened with a minute amount of infractions, and Collins hasn’t surpassed more than three penalties to his name in a single season.

The financials involved with resigning a player of his resume and demand was the main reason the Giants elected to walk away from Collins in 2018. However, with a new history of injuries strapped to him from his tenure in Washington, the safety’s market value should drop dramatically, and the team should hold more leverage in retaining Collins for a more friendly deal. Collin’s 2022 APY sat around $1.12 million for a half-season rental, so the expectation for a new contract could float a little above that number in 2023.

Why the Giants Shouldn’t Keep Him

Landon Collins’ struggle with availability will weigh heavily on the Giants’ decision not to resign him to a new contract for 2023.

The eighth-year safety has played in exactly 100 starts dating back to his rookie debut in 2015, however, he’s only made 20 appearances in the last three seasons with Washington and New York. After four of first five years finished with at least 15 contests, the most Collins has seen is 13 games in 2021, and he only matched half of that with the Giants this past fall.

Beyond his physical ailments, Collins can be susceptible to giving up the big play in the deep field, particularly when the coverage breaks down or he’s facing a mismatch with the receiver. 

Despite being a strong tackler at the first and second levels, he has succumbed 70.7% of targets against him for nearly 2,900 yards and 22 touchdowns with seven seasons ended above a 64% reception percentage mark. That stat dropped to 41.7% in 2022, Collins’ lowest opposing reception number, albeit in more limited reps this past season.

Collins’ weakness against the third-level mismatch has also revealed itself in his allowances after the catch. Per PFF, the Alabama product has given up 1,424 yards after the reception in his professional career and has averaged 11.7 per reception in the same span. Only two of his seasons have allowed less than 100 yards after the catch and a double-digit yardage average, with those numbers being 23 and 5.6 in 2022.

Keep or Dump?

Given he won’t have the same case to demand a hefty, long-term contract like the one he sought in Washington, the Giants should aim to resign Collins to a shorter, team-friendly pact.

The two-time Giant has repeatedly voiced his gratitude for the organization picking him up and granting him another chance to contribute to an impressive team effort. In that spirit, he hopes to return to East Rutherford to reclaim his NFL career, and the team’s defensive system would garner some benefits from his presence. Those benefits would mainly be a surefire tackler in the immediate field and a good pass rusher from the secondary, a tool Wink Martindale will love to send on blitzes inside or around the edge.

One idea for a potential agreement could center around two years with a team option in the second season. The Giants could add some playing incentives into the deal that both protect themselves and reward Collins’ for increased availability next fall, with the benefits being returned as a credit to 2024’s cap space if things don’t pan out with the safety. 

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Stephen Lebitsch
STEPHEN LEBITSCH

“Stephen Lebitsch is a graduate of Fordham University, Class of 2021, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communications (with a minor in Sports Journalism) and spent three years as a staff writer for The Fordham Ram. With his education and immense passion for the space, he is looking to transfer his knowledge and talents into a career in the sports media industry. Along with his work for the FanNation network and Giants Country, Stephen’s stops include Minute Media and Talking Points Sports.

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